


Living In Borrowed Time

by smug_albatross



Series: Living in Borrowed Time [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: (but only a little) - Freeform, Additional Warnings in Chapter Notes, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anti-Clone Prejudice (Star Wars), Chatlogs, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Force Shenanigans, Gen, Jedi Friendly, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Time Travel Fix-It, angst with a side of memes, clone culture, lgbtq clones, romance is largely secondary, this is the Friendship Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 35
Words: 74,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24043273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smug_albatross/pseuds/smug_albatross
Summary: It isn’t that Ahsoka isn’t grateful, exactly, it’s just that… she’s tired. She’s been running and hiding and fighting for so long that when Ana - whenDarth Vaderplunged his lightsaber into her heart, it was almost like relief.It isn’t that Rex was planning to die on Endor. It’s just that - once he stops screaming in his head - he can’t help but feel vaguely disappointed. He had died fighting, as a clone should, fighting to give the galaxy a peace that he had only found in death.Now that’s been snatched away, like everything else. She’s fourteen years old with lekku that tickle her shoulders and her legs ache with the promise of a growth spurt; he’s ten-slash-twenty again and his joints don’t ache and there’s a chip in his head that can make him kill his Jedi.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Living in Borrowed Time [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1897879
Comments: 924
Kudos: 2367
Collections: Captain Rex Stuff, Star Wars fics I Love and Want Near Me Always And Forever (Some I want Close For REASONS)





	1. I'm No Jedi

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Dominoes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11864643) by [meridianpony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/meridianpony/pseuds/meridianpony). 



The eyes of that black mask stared her down. The words that it spoke held no resemblance to her old Master - none of Anakin’s warmth and kindness, none of the lively, teasing lilt. They were cold. Dispassionate. Rigid and uncaring, even as Ahsoka’s heart found new ways to break as  _ that vile monster _ spoke -

“Anakin Skywalker was weak,” Darth Vader said, the sound of his mechanical breathing filling the air between them. “I destroyed him.”

Ahsoka’s eyes burned with unshed tears. “Then I will avenge his death,” she declared, raising her chin defiantly. Her words settled like a lodestone in her gut.

On the floor, behind Vader, Ezra started to inch away.

_ Go, _ she urged him silently, unwilling to reach out with the Force lest she draw Vader’s attention.  _ Go! _

Vader watched her as Ezra scrambled backwards. Was she imagining it, or did Vader tilt his head as he considered her? Like Anakin had? “Revenge is not the Jedi way.”

Ahsoka bared her teeth. “I’m no Jedi.”

She ignited her lightsabers and charged. Vader’s bloodred lightsaber met her twin white blades and -

Ahsoka fought better than she ever had in her life and it was the only reason she lasted longer than six seconds. With every blow, she could feel Vader’s raw strength bearing down on her, promising to crush her if she made a mistake.

But there were no mistakes. Ahsoka was fast and fierce and  _ furious;  _ anger coursed through her like liquid fire, white-hot and pure against the twisting, corrupted force of the Temple.

Vader bore down on her, delivering blow after crushing blow. She blocked them all, every memory of every fight and spar and training session boiling to the surface. Oh, she could see Anakin in the way he fought - the decisiveness, the power, the straightforwardness she’d always admired - but there was none of Anakin’s grace. Only brutality.

Perhaps that was her mistake. Perhaps she was blinded by the Anakin in him that she lost sight of the Sith.

A staggering blow send Ahsoka skidding towards the temple edge; she just managed to keep her footing when the Force  _ slammed  _ into her - 

\- and she fell.

When she woke, the temple was crumbling, and Ezra’s presence in the Force  _ screamed _ with panic.

She didn’t remember how she climbed back up the Temple, or how she found her lightsabers after the fall - the memory was blanked out behind a wall of  _ not Ezra too _ and she  _ screamed _ as she lunged -

Her lightsabers hit. Vader shouted in pain as he fell; Ahsoka didn’t, but she bit her tongue bloody to stop her cry. Her whole body ached, she must have broken something in that fall.

“Ahsoka!” Ezra cried. “Come on, hurry!”

It didn’t matter. All she had to do was get up and -

_ “Ahsoka.” _

_ Oh. _

That voice - that voice was -

Ahsoka turned, eyes wide, to see a rend in that black mask - and behind it -

“Ahsoka.”

_ “Anakin,” _ she gasped out.

_ Please, _ a wild part of her cried out,  _ please just come with me we can fix this please please please Anakin come back - _

_ Come back I miss you. _

Vader - Anakin -  _ Vader _ climbed to his feet, staring at her, but Ahsoka’s feet were frozen to the ground. His eye - not blue, but yellow, burning with anger (desperate, pleading,  _ it’s him oh it’s him please let it be really him -) _ stared at her, the weight of Anakin - Vader -  _ his  _ judgement bearing down on her.

“I won’t leave you,” she blurted, unable to stop herself and meaning every word. “Not this time.”

For a moment, Anakin stared at her.

The silence stretched between them as Anakin stared at her, his eyes wide, as his gaze dropped to the floor before looking back up at her.

For a moment, Ahsoka allowed herself to hope.

_ Please. _

“Then you will  _ die.” _

The sound of Vader’s lightsaber igniting speared through Ahsoka’s heart.

_ “Ahsoka!” _ Ezra screamed. Ahsoka threw her hand towards him, Force-pushing him back towards the shuttle.

This creature had been her master, once upon a time.

His death - or hers - would be  _ her _ burden. No one else’s.

So when she slammed her lightsabers into the floor of the crumbling Temple and saw the red blade bearing down on her, she reached for the Force and closed her eyes.

_ I’m sorry, Rex. _

The pain was excruciating.

* * *

Rex couldn’t believe he was going to die fighting alongside  _ Ewoks. _ In  _ stormtrooper armor. _ That was just - just  _ insulting. _

But he could feel the blaster wound eating at him from the inside, sapping his strength. They were outgunned, if not outnumbered - casualties were inevitable. And it looked like his luck had finally run out.

Another blaster bolt took him in the knee. Rex fell.

“No!” someone cried - was that Beezer? “C’mon, Gramps, get up!”

_ Gramps. _ Force, he was only thirty-six, he didn’t want to die at  _ thirty-six(-slash-seventy-two, _ a voice whispered in the back of his mind, unbidden.)

Rex didn’t want to die. He didn’t come to Endor just to  _ die - _

(- but then again, this was the end of the war. What did he know of peace?)

He especially didn’t want to die in  _ stormtrooper armor. _ Who’s great idea was it to disguise him like this anyway?

Rex struggled to get to his feet, but his body wouldn’t obey him. The blaster wound in his side throbbed and burned and he couldn’t feel his injured leg -

_ Rex. _

“Ahsoka,” Rex blurted out. But that was impossible - Ahsoka had died on Malachor V, seven years ago, killed by -

Fresh rage surged through Rex’s body. He heaved himself to his feet, legs shaking as he brought his blaster to bear. Darth Vader might not be here, might not be able to  _ personally _ answer for killing  _ her, _ his Commander, his Jedi, his friend - but he could damn well make the rest of the Empire pay for it.

_ Rex! _

Ahsoka’s soundless shout was all the warning Rex had before the blaster bolt tore through him. He collapsed, choking on ash and embers - Beezer slung his arm over her shoulders; he tried to help, tried to make his legs move as she dragged him off to the side, but he just -

He couldn’t.

“Easy, Gramps,” Beezer said, her voice taking on a frantic edge as she let him slump back at the base of a tree. “Take it easy, old man, you’re going to be okay -”

Rex just looked at her. Force, but she was young - dragged into this war when Alderaan was lost, all sharp loss and vicious skill and a heart too big for battle. Her eyes were wide as she pulled off his armor, her fingers fumbling with the clasps.

He swatted her hands away weakly. “Go,” he rasped. “Fight. You -” The words snarled in his throat, tangling into a red-hot knot of pain and threatening to choke him.

“I’m not leaving!” Beezer shouted at him, tears running down her face. “You stupid old man, you’re stuck with me!”

_ You’re stuck with me, Skyguy. _

_ “Win this,” _ he demanded, grasping desperately at her arm. “For -” _ for her, _ “for me.”

If there was a reply, Rex never heard it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Whatever your opinion on Ezra and the portal network thingy, it didn’t happen in this ‘verse. Where the failure occurred is up to you.)
> 
> Time travel is quickly becoming my fanfic signature, I think. Oops.
> 
> This one is going to be more anthology-style, like the show! (update: as of 7/19/20, it will...not be that lmao.) Also, be prepared for updates to be irregular. I’m posting this instead of studying for finals, and the scheduling for Ouroboros (for those of you who read it) isn’t going to change.


	2. Breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: suicide mention

“Commander Tano!”

Ahsoka kicked out on reflex. The  _ crack _ of contact was met with jarring pain leaping through her leg, but she ignored it, springing to her feet and scrambling away. Her vision swam -  _ hallucination, _ her mind helpfully provided, but -

\- no, that was impossible -

\- and yet -

“Oh,” Ahsoka said numbly, staring at the white plastoid armor and the familiar T-shaped visor.

A t-shaped visor with an impressive crack in it and a  _ presence in the Force, _ all pastel concern and yellowed worry, spiked with headache and befuddlement and something that Ahsoka had never been able to define but was nevertheless unmistakable.

“Trooper,” Ahsoka breathed. “Oh - oh  _ Force, _ I’m so sorry -”

“It’s okay, Commander,” the clone trooper said, gingerly removing his helmet to reveal an achingly familiar face with honey-gold eyes and close-cropped black hair. (Were clones always so tall?) “You’re not going to kick me again, are you?”

Ahsoka shook her head. “No,” she blurted out. Kriff, where had all that centered certainty gone? She took a deep breath, tugged at the Force to steady herself - Plo Koon had once described the technique as a mental crutch, or a third leg. “I didn’t recognize you,” she said a little lamely, once her insides had graduated from ‘plasma’ to ‘jelly’. “I’m sorry, er… kriff, I can’t remember your name.”

The soldier didn’t appear to take offense. “Sted, sir. I was just coming to wake you - we’ll be approaching the Christoph system soon.” Sted watched her carefully, open concern on his face. “You doing okay, sir?”

Ahsoka jerked. "I'm okay," she squeaked out reflexively (which did  _ not _ help her case). She cleared her throat, trying to push through the crackly, fear-ridden fog to string together a coherent sentence. "I'm - I'm - I think I just realized what. What I'm doing."

Sted made a noise of understanding. "You'll be fine, kid," he said reassuringly. "The 501st is the best in the army. Captain Rex is a good man, and General Skywalker is a certified war hero -"

Ahsoka winced. "Yeah," she muttered, her heart pounding in her chest. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"You'll do fine," Sted reassured her. "No shiny knows everything when they first step onto the front lines. And," he added, "the fact that you're worried is a good thing. Means you're not going to charge out and get yourself killed out of overconfidence."

A shaky laugh escaped Ahsoka's chest. "That's what I keep telling myself. Thanks, Sted."

Sted flashed a grin that made Ahsoka’s heart ache. "No problem, sir. You feeling better?"

Ahsoka took a deep breath.  _ Breathe in serenity, breathe out emotion. _ "Yeah," she said at last. "Someone gave me a pretty good pep talk."

Sted chuckled. "Happy to help, sir."

Ahsoka smiled tremulously as Sted left, letting the door slide shut behind him.

Okay. Time to take stock.

If this was a hallucination, it was a really good one. Everything  _ felt _ real - even in Force-induced hallucinations (thank you, Mortis), there was a degree of unreality that could be picked at. Not necessarily to escape the illusion, but to… see. There was always something wrong.

Except here. There wasn’t a thing out of place in the tiny grey metal cabin with its thin, hard bunk and small bag of personal belongings a Jedi Padawan was expected to have.

Frowning, Ahsoka raised a hand to her montrals. She’d lost her akul-tooth headdress after leaving the Order, but she could feel it underneath her fingers - and her montrals felt  _ smaller, _ she couldn’t feel her lekku against her back -

Ahsoka sat down hard.

She was a Padawan again. And if she was going to Christophsis - this was the beginning of the Clone Wars. She was being sent with a message about - she scrambled to remember the details, but it had been so long ago (a whole lifetime, she thought, slightly hysterically).

She knew where her message would lead them, though. To Teth, and the B’omarr Monastery, and the massacre that would follow.

(And if she didn’t deliver the message, Jabba’s son would die - or be returned by the Separatists - and - and -)

And more troopers would die. More of  _ her men. _

Ahsoka was going to save as many lives as she could. The machinations of Sith would have to be a secondary concern.

She took a deep breath and reached for her pack. Inside, she found a change of clothes (thank the  _ Force, _ why did her teenage self insist on a tube top, there was  _ no  _ protection at all there), two ration bars, a datapad with her mission briefing on it (which was bare-bones and ultimately unhelpful), and at the very bottom -

Two curved, rectangular lightsabers, one shorter than the other, with a diamond pattern etched into the hilt.

Ahsoka’s hand dropped to her hip, where the heavier, cylindrical shape of her childhood saber rested.

“Well, that’s not helpful,” she said aloud. “What am I supposed to do with  _ three _ lightsabers?” She only had two hands. Was she supposed to hold the third in her teeth?

If the Force could be said to be amused, it did so now.

* * *

Rex awoke in darkness with a gasp, clutching at his chest. Phantom pain still  _ burned _ in him, pinning him down; he couldn’t  _ breathe - _

“Rex, hey -”

_ Cody, _ but it couldn’t be Cody, because Cody was dead - Cody had eaten his own gun after realizing what he’d done on Utapau and  _ Rex couldn’t stop it - _

\- and it had all been for nothing anyway, because Kenobi had survived.

“Come on, Rex,” Cody murmured, his voice nearby, as if he were kneeling at Rex’s side. “Breathe with me, yeah?”

_ Breathe. _ Rex was dead. Why did the dead need to breathe? A hysterical, choking laugh burst out of him; he gagged, expecting to taste ash and burnt blood, and coughed, then retched.

_ “Vod,” _ Cody insisted, dipping into Mando’a like he always did when he was worried,  _ fretting. _ “You need to  _ breathe.” _

Rex’s chest felt like it was on fire, but he tried to obey anyway.

The breath he drew was raw and raspy, but it was a breath. The next one burned a little less, and a little less, and little less, until Rex was gulping down air that didn’t taste like soot and flesh, trying to get the taste of his own death out of his mouth.

“Now you’re breathing too much,” Cody said dryly. Hands guided Rex into a sitting position - he was vaguely aware of something like a cot - and pushed his head between his knees, rubbing circles between his shoulders like he was a scared cadet all over again.

Rex thought that he probably  _ should _ fight back, because either he was alive and something was stealing Cody’s voice or he was dead and a little fighting wouldn’t matter, but the warm, steady comfort was just - it was  _ nice. _ He’d missed having a brother, any brother, around, but to have it be  _ Cody - _

He wasn’t ready to let go of the illusion just yet.

Gradually, his eyes adjusted to the dark. Or at least, Rex thought they did, because what he was seeing didn’t make any sense.

He was in… it looked to be officers' barracks in a GAR base. He even recognized these men - most sleeping, or pretending to be, but a few were peering at him with concern on their faces - their  _ young _ faces. There was Fann, Otta, Bugs, and Holdout was curled up in the corner like he always was -

_ Teth. _ All these men had died on  _ Teth. _

Finally, Rex gathered himself enough to speak. “What the  _ hell?” _

Cody made a little noise of relief. “You’re back with me?”

Rex elected not to respond to that. Instead, he twisted around to stare at Cody, who didn’t look a day over twenty. “What the hell is going on?” he demanded. “I was just on Endor -” He pressed a hand to his side, where the blaster bolt had hit him. There was no wound there, no bacta patch, he couldn’t even feel a scar through the undersuit.

Bewilderment flashed across Cody’s face. “It was just a nightmare, Rex,” he said. “We’ve been on Christophsis for days, remember? Came here to get some humanitarian aid down to Senator Organa, ended up routing the Seps? Any of this ringing a bell.”

It did. But the bell that it rang was twenty-five years old.

“That’s…”  _ Impossible, _ Rex was going to say. But he hesitated. Something was wrong - not just wrong, something had been fundamentally upended, some law of the galaxy had been turned on its head.

He didn’t know what kind of Imperial trick this was, but he wasn’t going to  _ let them win. _

“Yeah,” he said, the word sounding bitter on his tongue. “Right.” He turned - not  _ away, _ not putting his back to not-Cody, but. Away. Ending the conversation.  _ Go away, _ written in flesh. “You’d better get some sleep.”

Not-Cody’s hand fell away. “Yeah, okay.” He stood up. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

“I  _ need _ to go back to sleep,” Rex bit out harshly.

Not-Cody raised his hands in mock surrender. “Just checking. See you in the morning.”

_ Bright and early. _ Rex bit down on the reflexive response.

He waited until Not-Cody had climbed back down to his bunk to lie back down.

He didn’t sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahaha yes so I am being mean to Rex this chapter. And probably in future chapters. (It's tagged angst with a happy ending, okay?)


	3. Forcing Your Hand

The next day, Rex had bitten his tongue bloody before noon.

Frustration boiled in his gut; he was _trying_ to find the weak spot in whatever-this-was, but he was limited - something told him that trying to break out of the illusion, to wreak havoc and go searching for the Rebellion, would be a _very bad idea._ So he was stuck looking for a chink in the proverbial armor, and trying not to give too much away about - well, anything.

He knew his not-Vode were whispering behind his back. (What would that be? Dar’vode? Rex had never picked up as much Mando’a as Cody.) He knew not-Kenobi had pulled not-Cody aside to ask discreetly if everything was all right. Sithspit, he didn’t remember everyone being this young.

Maybe the Empire was messing with his perception, or maybe it was just the perspective of age. Either way, he refused to let it rattle him.

He was even succeeding, until -

"Captain!"

Rex froze as Vader approached, a friendly smile on his face _(Anakin Skywalker's face,_ blue-eyed and reckless and _painfully_ familiar) like he wasn't a _traitor,_ like he hadn't carved his way through fleeing younglings and hunted frightened Jedi to the ends of the galaxy, like he hadn't _killed Ahsoka with his own two hands -_

Vader slowed as he approached, his smile fading. "Is everything all right, Rex?"

"Fine, sir," Rex bit out. The _sir_ tasted bitter on his tongue - Vader didn't deserve his respect, but Rex had to play along until he could find a way out. "Did you need something?"

Vader hesitated, a shadow of a frown passing over his face, darkening it - Rex braced himself for an explosion, letting his hand drift towards his pistols (he didn't expect them to fire, but he had to at least _try -)_

“I was going to ask you to check in on the outposts,” Vader said slowly.

Outposts. Right. Those had - been a thing.

It had been twenty-six years. The details were a little fuzzy.

“Yes, sir,” Rex said curtly, biting the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. _Good soldiers follow orders,_ he thought savagely. _Don’t they, sir?_

Vader blinked at him. “Is… everything okay, Captain?”

“Fine, sir.”

Vader still looked uncertain. “If you’re sure…”

Rex snarled at him - before Vader could respond (probably with a lightsaber) an explosion shook the ground. His not-brothers shouted, not-Cody’s voice snapped over the comms to _get the kriff down here, sirs,_ and Rex found himself running after Gen - _Vader_ without stopping to think about it.

“They’re _back!”_ Vader shouted to not-Kenobi as they reached the front line. His eyes flashed with the old spark as not-Kenobi ran up behind them, the promise of a battle lighting the same fire in him that it always had.

“I _told_ you this victory was too easy,” not-Kenobi complained. “We never should have sent the ship back for supplies!”

“It wasn’t _my_ idea to send the ship back!"

Rex rolled his eyes. Old habits died hard, apparently, even for a Sith Lord. “Argue _later,”_ he snapped at them. “Do you have a plan, or what?”

“Cody!” Not-Kenobi called, _keep his name out of your mouth._ “Battle positions!”

“Rex, you and your men follow me!” Vader shouted.

Ah. Right. The octuparra droids.

Rex couldn’t shake the old habit - he kept one eye on not-Cody as he followed Sky - followed _Vader_ to the top of one of the half-collapsed buildings. He could see most of the attack force from here - full squads of B1s and B2s, advancing on the position of his not-brothers, not-Kenobi’s lightsaber - he could even make out Cody if he zoomed his HUD in.

 _Not-_ Cody. Dammit - with the battle raging, it was hard to concentrate on the fact that _these people were not his brothers,_ that Vader was not his General, that the figure holding the lightsaber was not Kenobi. Maybe that was the Imperial strategy - to throw him into battle after battle, wearing him down until he couldn’t tell that his brothers weren’t really his brothers - and _then_ the real interrogation would begin.

It was a bit roundabout, as torture went, but the Empire had never done anything by halves.

...hm. _Hm._

“Follow me,” Vader growled.

 _This is stupid,_ Rex told himself, before throwing himself off the building.

His jetpack kicked in, making sure he didn’t smash his face on the ground below, but then he was off, darting through droids and firing into the ground troops as well as the joints of the massive octuparra droids.

If the Empire was trying to wear him down, he’d make them work for every inch of it. And, on the bright side, he didn’t have to worry about making it out the other side.

(He was quickly coming to the understanding that there wasn’t going to _be_ an ‘other side’. Not this time.)

Not-Cody was yelling at him, and he sounded so much like _actual_ Cody that Rex almost stopped, almost listened, but he didn’t. He kept firing, mowing down wave after wave as the octuparra droids came crashing down. It was - freeing, in a way, to fight without regard for anything else, but there was a part of him that was _screaming_ for cover.

_“Kriff, Rex! What the hell are you doing?”_

Rex’s lips moved to frame the words. _Forcing your hand._

* * *

Ahsoka couldn’t stop fidgeting as her shuttle touched down on Christophsis. Her heart was pounding. This was it, this was about to be the most important thing she ever did - stopping her master’s fall to the Dark Side, saving her men, _fixing everything._

No pressure.

The shuttle ramp lowered.

Christophsis was _almost_ exactly as she remembered - violet-clouded sky, soaring crystal towers, rubble in the streets. Beautiful, but broken. It wasn’t the planet that had changed - no, it was the troops. She remembered them being… calmer. More in control - there was quite a lot of shouting going on.

Actually, one person seemed to be doing most of the shouting. Was that - Cody?

“- _di’kut! Meg gar runarir?!”_

Ahsoka turned to see Cody towering over a dead-eyed Rex sitting on a piece of rubble, glaring up at him. Her heart jumped in her chest as she saw bandages wrapped around Rex’s leg - he’d been injured. How had he been injured? He hadn’t been injured last time.

 _“Gar rulis ganar ru’ash’amur, bal vaii te_ kriff _runarir ibac ganar payt mhi? Gar shuk meh kyrayc! Besom!”_

Cody stormed off with a snarl of _“Rangir!”_ and left Rex glowering after him.

Ahsoka reached out with the Force, looking to soothe Rex’s wounds - and gasped.

The Force had wound itself into a knot around Rex’s presence. The air around him was stained red-black with rage, the once-faded scars of old wounds now ripped and raw. He was like a walking black hole, but underneath it all was _her Rex._ Her old friend - the one who knew her, the one she’d said her farewells to before leaving for Malachor V.

He was _here_ \- and the Force was clinging to him like a limpet.

“Rex!” she called, running over to him. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Rex’s head snapped towards her and she stopped dead.

His eyes were - _dead._ Like there was nobody behind them. His presence in the Force turned to ice.

“Rex?” she asked tentatively. “It’s me.” _I know it’s you!_ she shouted into the Force. _It’s me!_

(She was dimly aware of the other clones shifting uncomfortably in the Force - anxiety sparked off the nearest ones in waves, others shifted away. _Oh kriff,_ one thought particularly loudly, _is the captain about to shoot a Jedi?)_

Rex blinked.

Slowly, his expression started to thaw. His eyes widened - just minutely, but _enough,_ enough to crack the impassive mask and let the man Ahsoka knew shine through. “Commander?”

Unable to restrain herself, Ahsoka flung her arms around Rex’s neck and hugged him close. “It’s good to see you,” she said, pulling back after Rex made a faint noise of protest, despite the fact that he was holding her just as tightly. _Right. Injured._

“You too, Commander,” Rex said softly. “I… thought you were dead.”

Ahsoka frowned, opened her mouth to respond - _hasn’t he figured it out yet?_ \- but she shut her jaws almost immediately as a trooper Ahsoka didn’t recognize moved into her field of vision.

“I’ll explain later,” she told him instead, darting her gaze pointedly around them.

Rex, bless him, understood. “You’d better go see the -” he cut himself off. “Well,” he grimaced, “you’ll see.”

_Anakin._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rex - *does That*  
> Cody - what the Singular Fuck is wrong with you
> 
> Rex is doing dumb things. I adore him. Cody is _so_ unhappy.
> 
> Mando'a Translations  
>  _dar'_ \- a prefix meaning 'no longer', as in 'no longer a father' or 'no longer a Mandalorian', a mark of exile and shame. Rex, not being Mando'a fluent, doesn't realize the severity of it, so he's not using it right ( _dar'vod_ would be a brother who has been outcast as a traitor, like Slick).  
>  _vode_ \- siblings (Mando'a doesn't have gendered language - vode can be brothers, sisters, or siblings)  
>  _di'kut_ \- idiot, moron, fool  
>  _Meg gar runarir?_ \- What were you doing?  
>  _Gar rulis ganar ru’ash’amur, bal vaii te kriff runarir ibac ganar payt mhi?_ \- You're going to die, and where the kriff would that have left the rest of us?  
>  _Gar shuk meh kyrayc!_ \- You're no use dead!  
>  _Besom!_ \- Colloquially, bastard; in proper Mando'a it means "ill-mannered lout, unhygenic person, someone with no manners" but most of the GAR has adopted it to be more widely applicable.  
>  _Rangir!_ \- To hell with it!


	4. A Tug in the Force

Obi-Wan didn’t know what to make of Ahsoka Tano.

He didn’t know what to make of a great many things, lately. Captain Rex had suddenly been swathed in hatred as he stalked through the camp and mowed through wave after wave of droids. Even Cody hadn’t been able to get through to him; the language Cody had used over the comms had taken five years off of Obi-Wan’s life, but Rex had barely flinched. It was like the man was walking in a dream.

Ahsoka was little better - anxiety twisted through the Force as she spoke to them, blue eyes (large even for a Togruta) fixed on Anakin and ignoring Obi-Wan entirely. That was normal enough - Anakin  _ was _ her new master, after all, and a little nervousness was to be expected. It was everything  _ else _ that was strange.

To start with, there were a full three lightsabers on her belt, only one of which looked properly sized for her age - the other two were flat-hilted and looked broad enough to be awkward. (Then again, Togrutan joints worked a little differently than human ones, so perhaps it wasn’t an issue for her.) But even the oddity of a  _ young Padawan _ having three lightsabers was overshadowed by her presence in the Force.

She almost felt like a seasoned Master - practically glowing with power, dim as it might be next to the corona of pure Force that was Anakin, balanced, and steady as a heartbeat. But there was an anomaly within her, like a knot - buried deep in her chest and full of grief and fear and hope so strong that Obi-Wan could have wept.

She was a child. A  _ child. _ She should not carry such weight.

(He looked at Anakin and tried not to feel guilty.)

“Master Kenobi,” she greeted, bowing politely, “M - General Skywalker. My name is Ahsoka Tano. Master Yoda sent me to deliver your next orders. There’s an emergency.”

Anakin snorted. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re in a bit of an emergency right  _ here,” _ he said, gesturing angrily at their surroundings.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan agreed dryly. “Our communications have been a bit unreliable, but we’ve been calling for help.”

Ahsoka shuffled a few steps towards Obi-Wan, casting a nervous glance at Anakin. “Master Yoda hadn’t heard from you, so he sent me to deliver the message,” she said quietly.

Next to him, Cody shifted. A tug in the Force made Obi-Wan look up.

From his place next to the medical tents, Rex was staring at them - no, at  _ Anakin, _ eyes blank and unblinking. One hand was drifting near the blaster on his hip.

“Oh, great,” Anakin snarled, turning away, apparently oblivious to the sudden tension in the air. “They don’t even  _ know _ we’re in trouble.”

“You could probably relay a signal through the cruiser that just dropped me off,” Ahsoka said helpfully. “I asked Admiral Yularen about it while I was up there, he said it was doable.”

Anakin paused. He turned back with a speculative look on his face - and only then did he notice the way Rex was staring at him. His eyes narrowed.

“Get me a line to the Admiral,” he ordered. (“Right away sir!”) “Youngling -”

“Why doesn’t she stay with me until we’ve made contact with Coruscant?” Obi-Wan intervened gently. “You have matters of your own to attend to.” He glanced pointedly at Rex.

Anakin nodded. “Sure. Have fun with that.”

As Ahsoka relaxed, Rex’s hand dropped.

“I apologize for Anakin’s temper,” Obi-Wan said with a smile. He hadn’t missed the way she’d flinched away when Anakin’s voice rose. “But I do believe it’s time for a proper introduction.”

Ahsoka straightened. “I’m a new Padawan learner,” she said formally. “My name is Ahsoka Tano.”

“I’m Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Obi-Wan was a little disappointed that Anakin wasn’t around - he’d so been enjoying teasing the young man about getting a Padawan, and here his new apprentice was in front of them and Obi-Wan didn’t even get to put on a production. “Anakin is your assigned Master, is he not?”

Ahsoka nodded, falling into step beside him as they made for the communication hub. “Yes, Master Kenobi. I’ve heard a lot about him.”

“Have you ever met him before?” Obi-Wan asked curiously.

Ahsoka shook her head. “No, Master.”

_ Lie. _

“Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan said sternly, coming to a halt. “It is unwise to lie to your Masters. Or,” he added, because this was war, “to your Generals.”

“I’m not lying!” she protested, eyes wide and upset. “This was the first time I’d ever seen him!”

Now that… that was true.

Interesting.

“Very well, Padawan,” Obi-Wan relented. “But whatever it is you fear from him, you  _ must _ work through it. Fear leads to anger -”

“Anger leads to hate,” Ahsoka continued, without missing a beat. “Hate leads to suffering. I remember my teachings, Master Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow, but Ahsoka merely raised her chin and stared back at him.

Cody coughed. “Ah, sirs?”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said, a touch sheepish. “Follow me, young one.”

* * *

Ahsoka trailed along behind Master Kenobi, only looking up when Cody dropped back to walk next to her.

"If you don't mind me asking, Commander," Cody said, the very picture of a respectful subordinate (if you ignored the way his presence in the Force  _ simmered _ like one of Rex's stews right after he added an absurd amount of chili). "How do you know Rex, anyway?"

Ahsoka glanced up at him. "He's a friend," she said simply. "We've worked together in the past. I was surprised to see him here," she added, because it was true. She'd thought she was in this alone - but no, the Force was being... kind, almost. It had brought Rex back too.

"Really?" Cody asked casually. "I don't remember seeing you on Kamino."

"I've never been." That wasn't strictly true - she and Rex had tried to sneak in, after the Order went out, to save the cadets - but they hadn't even made it in the doors before they'd had to flee. "Does it really rain  _ all _ the time?"

"Pretty much." Cody nodded to a trooper Ahsoka didn't recognize as they passed. "So how do you know Rex, then?"

Ahsoka sighed. "It's... a long story," she said. "And I'm not supposed to talk about it." Her lips quirked. "Not sure I'd really want to, anyway."

Cody sighed softly. "I guess we've all got one of those."

_ More than one, _ Ahsoka agreed. She glanced over her shoulder to where Rex was standing at stiff attention in front of Anakin. "What happened to him? He's not usually that reckless."

"I wish I know, Commander," Cody said regretfully. "I really do. Hey - if he talks to you -"

"I'm not going to tell you his secrets," Ahsoka snapped out reflexively.

Cody stared down at her. "I wasn't asking," he said coolly.

Internally, Ahsoka grimaced.  _ Right. _ From where Cody was standing, she was the newcomer - instead of her and Rex being friends of a quarter of a century, she was a young upstart who thought she knew Rex because she'd worked with him one time.

She'd probably be pretty annoyed if she was in Cody's boots right now.

"If there's anything he needs," she offered, as a tentative wroshyr branch, "I'll let you know."

Cody grunted.

Well, this was going great.

She filled Master Kenobi in on the rest of their next mission - that Jabba the Hutt’s son had been kidnapped and that the Republic was willing to find and return him in exchange for a treaty that would let them route supplies through Hutt space. Rotta had been located on Teth, holed up in an abandoned B’omarr monastery and guarded by a bunch of droids.

“Teth is Wild Space,” Master Kenobi mused. “There’s very little worth fighting over in that sector - we’ve heard no word of a Separatist presence until now.” He glanced at her. “How was this information obtained, exactly?”

Ahsoka shrugged, keeping her eyes wide and innocent. “I’m just telling you what I was briefed on.”

“Hm.” Master Kenobi looked up as they reached Anakin. “Very well. I must see to my men - fill your master in for me, would you?”

“Wait -” Ahsoka blurted.

At the same time, Anakin burst out,  _ “What?” _

* * *

_ Chat opened - Vibin’ _

_ Welcome, CC-2224 "here for ur codes" _

_ Other Participants - CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-6454 “Pondscum” _

_ \-- _

_here for ur codes_ \- I need advice

_Mr. Secura_ \- Jedi advice?

_here for ur codes_ \- Rex almost shot his general twice today

_Pondscum_ \- ?????!!??!?!?!?!

_here for ur codes_ \- YEAH

_here for ur codes_ \- I don’t think Skywalker has noticed it yet but Kenobi DEFINITELY HAS so if anyone can give me a hint on how to get my kriff-idiot brother back in line before he gets decommissioned THAT WOULD BE GREAT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So fun fact, Ponds actually has two designations - one from the show and one from Star Wars: On the Front Lines (that number is also on the Star Wars website). Considering that we only found out Ponds’s number while he was under interrogation by Aurra Sing (also because Ponds is a commander and should probably have a commander’s designation), I’m making the executive decision that Ponds was lying through his teeth in the show.


	5. Scared

Things went about as well as could be expected.

Ahsoka jumped whenever Anakin shouted (and he shouted a  _ lot), _ Rex kept reaching for his blaster, Master Kenobi was radiating disapproval, and Cody looked like he wanted to shoot them all. Even Anakin had noticed something was up, even if only after the call with the Council had finished and he’d looked around like someone had just dumped a bucket of water on his head.

The lookout post proceeded much as before. Anakin was grouchy, and Ahsoka somehow found the courage to call him  _ Skyguy. _

_ “What _ did you just call me?” Anakin demanded, rounding on her - and that was when Ahsoka started to cry.

Rex yanked Anakin back with a snarl, pushing himself between the two Jedi (and wasn’t that odd, to realize that Anakin  _ was still a Jedi), _ glowering down at his general.

“It’s okay, Rex,” Ahsoka said, hating the way her voice wobbled as she wiped her eyes furiously. “I’m fine.”

“Sir -”

“It’s  _ okay,” _ Ahsoka repeated more forcefully. “It’s just bad memories, that’s all.”

“What is  _ up _ with the two of you?” Anakin demanded, with the air of someone who wasn’t really expecting a response - which was good, because he didn’t get one.

Because that was about when the shield showed up, Ahsoka pointed out the obvious, and she wound up hunched under a metal box with Anakin Skywalker, aged 20.

So maybe she hadn’t thought this plan of hers through all the way.

(“Don’t die,” she’d told Rex. “I don’t want to hear about any more stupid stunts you pulled, okay?”)

(“Only if you promise the same.”)

(“Deal.”)

Anakin was holding his breath as the droid army passed them by. Ahsoka didn’t bother, but she was grateful to have some padding on her hands and elbows this time around. She’d been picking shards of crystal out of her palms for  _ days _ last time.

“C’mon,” she said shortly, pushing their covering aside as the clanker footsteps faded into the distance. “We need to get that shield down.”

“Be  _ careful,” _ Anakin snarled, rushing after her. “You never know what you’re going to run into -”

Ahsoka pointed. “Like a droideka?”

_ “Like a droideka!” _ Anakin yelped, drawing his lightsaber and scrambling backwards, deflecting the bolts as they flew towards them.

Ahsoka, who was  _ profoundly _ irritated to have to deal with these things again, threw herself skyward with the Force and came down on the droid’s shoulders. She plucked her shoto from her belt - the hilt felt odd in her hands, too bulky and too heavy, but it  _ sang _ with familiarity nonetheless - stuck it through the transparent blue shield, and activated it.

The droideka dropped. Ahsoka backflipped off of it as it collapsed, landing lightly on her feet and crossing her arms and daring Anakin to say anything.

“Well,” Anakin said flippantly, deactivating his lightsaber, “that’s one way to do it.”

Ahsoka felt a grin flash across her face. “Better than running for it and hoping it doesn’t get you in the back.”

“That’s what the Force is for, my  _ young _ Padawan,” Anakin said, approaching her. “Where’d you learn to do that anyway?”

Ahsoka shrugged and turned back down the road. “Not much further to the shield,” she guessed. “How do you think Rex and Master Kenobi are holding up?”

She flinched away when Anakin laid a hand on her shoulder. “They’ll be fine,” he said, stepping away without offense. “How do you know Rex, anyway?”

“Everyone keeps asking me that,” Ahsoka muttered, stalking after him. Why was he wearing black? No other Jedi wore black - well, except for Barriss, but -

And Master Luminara. So, okay, maybe it wasn’t such a red flag. Still, it set her teeth on edge - sometimes he would do  _ something, _ some innocuous little thing, and it would be like seeing Vader in front of her all over again.

“Snips?” Anakin prompted.

Right. “We’re friends,” she said. “We’ve worked together before. It’s a long story,” she added, sensing Anakin’s curiosity and marvelling at the weightlessness of it.

_ I could tell him, _ she thought suddenly, but the thought made her stomach twist, so she didn’t.

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with that, er,  _ incident _ back at the outpost, would it?” Anakin asked dryly.

Ahsoka snorted. “Maybe a little.”

“That’s what I thought.” He had more questions - she could sense them, burning around his head like tiny stars, but he didn’t ask.

They didn’t speak until they found the shield generator. Anakin ordered her to stay close, warned her to be careful, which,  _ ha. _ She leaped forward, heedless of his shout, dancing lightly around the antennae buried in the ground and jumping to crouch on top of the shield generator.

The heat of the beam burned her skin as she unloaded the thermal detonators, hastily attaching them to the generator before scurrying out of range, grabbing Anakin’s arm as she passed and hauling him  _ away. _

“Did you get the charges set?” he demanded.

“Yes.”

“Then what are you waiting for?!"

* * *

Rex had been graced with a stern dressing-down from Va - from Ana - from the Gene -  _ Rex was graced with a stern dressing down _ as General Kenobi and Cody escorted Ahsoka into the camp.

Rex didn’t actually hear the words being spoken to him. The world felt very far away - like he was watching everything happen from the other side of a long tunnel.

_ Disassociating, _ he thought vaguely. It happened, sometimes. He should probably be concerned about that, but it wasn’t like this was the first time he’d lost himself in a warzone. He could work through it.

Cody commed him an indeterminate amount of time later, after Ahsoka had left to take down the shield, leaving Rex alone and trying not to crawl out of his skin. “I’m still pissed at you.”

Rex said nothing.

Cody sighed. “We’re going to talk about this,” he warned. “Next chance we get, you understand? You’re not going to hide from this,  _ vod’ika.” _

“Hm-hm,” Rex agreed. He didn’t see the need to respond beyond that.

Cody cursed at him. Then the droids showed up, and the cursing was directed elsewhere.

He fought. Aiming was automatic; he settled more comfortably in his skin as he moved through the broken streets, jerking himself back out of his daze out of sheer necessity. He still felt numb and out of place, but the blasterfire was real and so were the cries of his brothers dying and  _ ah, yeah, there’s the anger. _

They lost their position, had to fall back to where General Kenobi (who… might actually  _ be  _ Kenobi, because  _ Ahsoka was dead  _ but she was  _ here _ ) was waiting. Then they fell back further, to the heavy cannons - and General Kenobi stayed behind, presumably to get himself captured and waste as much time as possible.

And then the shield dropped, the cannons roared, and the droids were vaporized. It was all ahead of schedule, and when the whistle of gunships overhead failed to materialize, Rex felt like he was floating.

He still couldn’t believe this was real - he still wasn’t convinced, but he  _ wanted  _ to be. He desperately wanted it to be real, and he was terrified of the consequences if it proved to be a trick and he fell for it anyway.

His HUD blinked. There was a new…

… notification?

_ Oh. Right. _

* * *

_ Chat opened - bitching hours _

_ Welcome, CT-7567 “rexing ball” _

_ Other Participants - CC-2224 “codeified badass”, CC-1010 “Fox” _

\--

_ codeified badass _ \- next time the 212th is on coruscant im getting SO drunk

_ rexing ball _ \- thats not how u spell codified

_ codeified badass _ \- REX

_ codeified badass _ \- Are you okay?

[CT-7567 has changed their nickname from “rexing ball” to “Rex”]

_ Rex -  _ great question

_ codeified badass  _ \- rex…

_ Rex _ \- oh. I didn’t get shot

_ Rex -  _ if thats what ur asking

_ codeified badass _ \- not really but i'll take it

_ Fox _ \- Couldn’t you two have done this in DMs? Or in PERSON

_ Rex -  _ Fox.

_ Fox -  _ Rex.

_ Rex -  _ the next time i see u im going to punch u

_ Rex _ \- just a heads up

_ Fox -  _ Why?

_ codeified badass _ \- Rex. seriously. What the hell.

[CT-7567 has logged off]

* * *

So, a fun fact about explosions - they had a tendency to activate any sentry droids in their immediate vicinity.

It hadn’t been an issue last time, because Ahsoka had set all the sentry droids off before they’d even gotten to the generator. This time, though -

“Get behind me!” Anakin snarled, lightsaber  _ thrumming _ into existence.

Ahsoka did not do that.

She reached out with the Force and  _ yanked. _

A twisted hunk of scrap metal ripped itself free of the ground and hurtled sideways, smashing through all but two of the droids - both of which were too close to Anakin to risk smashing. Sparks flew up from the ground as the metal skidded to a stop, sending pieces of droid flying everywhere.

It was terribly unceremonious, for what had been her first battle.

Anakin deflected a barrage of blaster bolts back at the first droid. Ahsoka lunged for the second, calling her lightsabers into her hands; her first strike didn’t connect (her arms were  _ too short) _ but her second struck true, slicing it neatly in half.

Anakin’s lightsaber struck home, putting out its lights for good. “You could have gotten yourself  _ killed,” _ he snapped, deactivating his lightsaber. “You’re reckless, impulsive, you don’t listen to orders -” He stopped as she cringed away, half of her waiting for a lightsaber strike and the other  _ screaming _ that he was about to Fall.

“And you’re scared of me,” he said quietly, turning away. “I’ll speak to the Council. We’ll find you a new master.”

“No!” Ahsoka blurted. “Master, please -”

Anakin turned back to her, one eyebrow raised. “Master?”

_ Sithspit. _ “I -”

“Ahsoka,” Anakin said, with remarkable gentleness. “If you’re set on being my Padawan, it’s going to be a lot of work. Whatever problems you have, you need to work through them.” He sat down on a piece of wreckage, motioning her to join him.

Ahsoka did. “You remind me of someone,” she confessed. “He trained me, once. It…” She looked away, emotion roiling in her stomach. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she  _ shouldn’t tell him, _ but - he deserved some kind of explanation, didn’t he? After all, he hadn’t done anything.

Yet.

“It didn’t end well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. This chapter got longer than expected.


	6. A Strong Bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally sat down and actually started outlining this fic, so I’m not just throwing plot points at the wall and seeing what sticks, and oh God this is gonna be a monster. Strap in and prepare for angst with a side of memes.
> 
> (That pretty much sums up this fic, tbh. Everyone needs therapy but also Ahsoka set Rex’s kitchen on fire once and he’s never let her forget it.)

_CC-2224 has made a new chat_

_CC-2224 “Cody” has added CC-1010 “Fox”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-1007 “Blackout”_

_Cody has changed the title of the chat to [this is an intervention]_

_Cody_ \- Rex has a new Jedi

 _Mr. Secura_ \- didn’t he almost shoot the one he had already???

 _Mr. Secura_ \- why did he get another one?

 _Cody_ \- Skywalker got a new Padawan

 _Cody_ \- apparently she and Rex? Know Each Other?

 _Blackout_ \- yeah i got that impression

 _Blackout_ \- i havent seen em apart since they got back to the resolute

 _Wolffe_ \- you can have MULTIPLE JEDI

 _Wolffe -_ I want a second jedi

 _Fox_ \- Oh, we know.

 _Cody -_ Is Rex doing okay? he’s not answering my messages

 _Blackout -_ idk he hasn’t said anything but he hasnt tried to shoot anyone and he looks like hes doing his job

 _Cody -_ Tell him general kenobi is looking for him. Apparently he wants to talk?

 _Fox -_ Uh-oh.

 _Blackout_ \- yikes.jpg

* * *

Ahsoka and Rex stuck together like glue after they made it back to the _Resolute._ They couldn’t talk right away - Rex had duties to attend to, debriefings to oversee and rosters to schedule for their journey to Teth - but they weren’t going to be separated again.

Rex had waited seven years to see his little sister again. He’d be damned if he was going to let her wander off. Not that Ahsoka seemed inclined to do so - she’d barely strayed more than two meters from his side since they’d set foot on the Star Destroyer.

They were in the middle of sequestering the gunships (well, Rex was in the middle of sequestering the gunships, Ahsoka was just kind of there) when they were approached by a clone in dark grey armor with the special operations helmet sensors lined in red. If it weren’t for the helmet design, Rex wouldn’t have recognized him, but there weren’t a lot of clones who’d earned Jaig eyes - and the yellow-and-black paint scheme was incredibly distinctive.

(Rex was abruptly struck with the memory of a young Ahsoka - an _actually_ young Ahsoka - asking him what the earmuffs on Blackout’s armor were for and had to swallow a laugh.)

“Commander,” Rex greeted curtly, motioning sharply for the pair of shinies to _be careful with those crates, dammit_. “Something you need, sir?”

“Not me,” Blackout said, swiping the datapad out of Rex’s hand without so much as a _thanks._ “General Kenobi wants to talk to you and Cody has better things to do than track you down. So naturally, I get the pleasure all to myself.”

“I appreciate it, sir,” Rex said stiffly. “But the _Resolute_ needs to be squared away before -”

Blackout raised a hand to cut him off. “I’ll take care of the rest. Go talk to Kenobi - before Cody has us both court-martialed out of impatience.”

Ahsoka snickered into her hand. Rex just stood there, feeling oddly gutted. This - this was supposed to be _his job._ He was supposed to do his job and keep his people _safe._

“C’mon, Rexster,” Ahsoka said, snapping Rex out of his rising temper with a playful nudge. “Let’s go see what Master Kenobi wants. It can’t be more of a disaster than Kashyyyk, right?”

Despite himself, Rex snorted. “I see your Kashyyyk and I raise you Abafar.”

“Abafar wasn’t _that_ bad,” Ahsoka complained, leading him away and leaving Blackout staring after them, bemusement written on his face.

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-1007 “Blackout”_

_Other Participants - CC-1010 “Fox”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-2224 “Cody”_

_Blackout_ \- new intel

 _Blackout_ \- rex and baby jedi did missions on Kashyyyk and Abafar together

 _Cody -_ Ive never even HEARD of Abafar

 _Cody_ \- Kashyyyk is still allied with the Republic tho isnt it?

 _Fox_ \- It is, yeah

 _Fox_ \- They’ve had troubles with the Trade Federation in the past though, so maybe Rex and Baby Jedi were sent there to help with that? Since the TF has Seppie ties.

 _Mr. Secura_ \- ...do you just. Know that off the top of your head?

 _Fox_ \- I work in the Senate

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Yeah okay fair

 _Wolffe_ \- Abafar is a little podunk nothing in the outer rim that technically mines rhydonium but theres like NONE left

 _Mr. Secura_ \- do YOU just know that off the top of your head?

 _Wolffe_ \- no I asked General Plo

 _Blackout_ \- so nothing useful there

 _Wolffe_ \- not unless there’s a bunch of rhydonium floating around the Republic nobody told me about

 _Cody_ \- Ill do some digging

 _Cody_ \- the vode have no secrets from me

 _Cody_ \- not even Blackout

 _Blackout_ \- doubt.jpg

* * *

General Kenobi looked up as Rex and Ahsoka stepped into his - well, what could pass for an office, considering that this wasn’t the _Negotiator_ and that battle cruisers weren’t known for their spacious accommodations anyway.

(Technically, it was probably Vader’s - _the General’s_ office, but Rex knew the man would never use it.)

“Rex,” General Kenobi greeted, setting his datapad down on the desk in front of him. “And Ahsoka, good. Please, have a seat, both of you.”

Ahsoka obeyed, frowning at her feet as they dangled just above the floor. It was odd to realize how _short_ she was, Rex reflected, taking a seat next to her.

“Is something wrong, Master Kenobi?” Ahsoka asked, eyes wide with faux innocence.

General Kenobi raised an eyebrow. “Normally, this would be Anakin’s duty, as you are his padawan and his first in command, respectively,” he said. “However, considering that you nearly _shot him,_ Captain, and that any time he raises his voice you, Ahsoka, start to cry, we thought it best that _I_ have this discussion with you.”

“And what discussion is that, sir?” Rex said lowly, tensing in his seat. If this _was_ an Imperial trick, this would be a prime opportunity to start the interrogation -

Ahsoka nudged him, shaking her head minutely. 

“The one where we decide what to do about your sudden distrust of Anakin,” General Kenobi said, crossing his hands together on the desk in front of him. “I can arrange to have you both transferred -”

“No!” Ahsoka cried, as Rex’s stomach turned to ice.

“Or perhaps not,” Kenobi said dryly. He fell silent, studying them - studying Ahsoka, mainly. Rex watched nervously as they stared each other down.

“Fascinating,” Kenobi murmured finally, breaking eye contact with Ahsoka. “The Force has wrapped itself around you both in a way I’ve never seen before.” Sorrow passed over his face as he looked to Rex, aging him by twenty years for a single moment before he looked away again. “Have you noticed it, young one?”

Ahsoka shifted in her seat. “A bit,” she confessed. “I haven’t really had much chance to look for it, but… I’ve noticed some things.”

Rex, who had a myriad of experiences with the Force wrapping itself around him - most of them involving Inquisitors - cleared his throat. “So, for the non-Jedi in the room -?”

General Kenobi startled slightly, looking guilty. “Ah, yes,” he said. “Of course. It’s as if - well, the best way to explain it would be that the Force has folded in on itself around you both. You’ve been linked, somehow. It’s a strong bond, but very sudden.” He glanced back to Ahsoka. “I don’t suppose you know who’s responsible for it?”

Ahsoka blinked. “Responsible…? I don’t think anyone’s responsible for it.”

Kenobi pinched the bridge of his nose. “Very well. While it’s clear to me that the Force wants you both here, I cannot in good conscience let this go unaddressed. If you two believe that you can work with Anakin and the rest of the 501st, I will give you this mission to prove it to me.” He laid his hands flat on the table. _“If_ Anakin and I are satisfied with your performance, I will speak no more of it. If not, however, you _will_ be transferred elsewhere.”

Rex clenched his fists until his nails dug into the meat of his palm, even through the material of his blacks. They (and he wasn’t quite sure who _they_ was anymore, but he knew there was a _they)_ were going to _take him away from his vode -_

Ahsoka tapped his calf with her foot. “We can do it, Master,” she said determinedly.

Kenobi pressed his lips together. “I would like to believe that, Ahsoka,” he said gently. He glanced over the pair of them, eyes lingering briefly on Rex. “Before you leave, is there _anything_ you two would like to tell me?”

Ahsoka hesitated. Rex glanced at her, waiting for her to take the lead - she was the Jedi here, more or less, and she seemed to understand what was happening better than Rex himself.

“No, Master,” Ahsoka said quietly, her shoulders slumping. “At least - not yet.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-2224 “Cody”_

_Other Participants - CC-1010 “Fox”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura” [offline], CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-1007 “Blackout”_

_Cody_ \- Im going to go kriffing nuclear

 _Fox_ \- Why?

 _Cody -_ bc its a little humid

 _Cody_ \- STRESS, FOX

 _Cody_ \- ITS STRESS

 _Cody_ \- if Rex doesnt get his act together by the end of this mission Kenobi is going to have him transferred

 _Blackout_ \- transferred...where

 _Cody_ \- didnt specify

 _Fox_ \- So, Kamino, probably

 _Cody_ \- I dont think Kenobi would do that, but

 _Cody_ \- Skywalker was his padawan

 _Cody_ \- if he thought Rex was a danger…

 _Wolffe_ \- General Plo will take him in

 _Wolffe_ \- we’re not gonna let our favorite vod’ika get decommissioned

 _Cody_ \- everyone shut up hes DMing me

 _Cody_ \- He wants to talk

 _Cody_ \- him AND baby jedi

 _Blackout_ \- keep us updated

 _Cody_ \- Standard disclaimers apply

 _Cody_ \- kriff, I hope im gonna get some answers...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Blackout. I’m so happy I rewatched Cat and Mouse before I started writing this fic or I would never have thought to include him.
> 
> Anyway, Obi-Wan knows the Force is up to shit and he’s not pleased about it, but he’s willing to give this pair of weirdos a little leeway. Now all Ahsoka and Rex have to do is sit down and talk.


	7. What Happened

Cody was waiting for them in Rex’s quarters - perks of being a CO included your own little broom closet on the _Resolute._ Technically, it was meant for a commander, but the _kaminiise_ had thrown a fit when Skywalker had tried to have Rex promoted (words like _defective_ had been used, along with some much stronger verbiage on Skywalker’s part). So Rex had ended up with all of the responsibilities and half of the benefits.

(And all because Rex had the misfortune of being born blond. If Cody thought about it too hard, he’d probably take a bomb to Tipoca City.)

Cody had already folded himself into his customary corner, sitting on top of Rex’s armor crate with one foot propped up on the foot of the bed.

Ahsoka Tano moved into Rex’s space with the kind of familiarity usually reserved for batch brothers. She perched at the edge of Rex’s desk, planting her feet on the arms of his chair with a kind of impishness that Cody usually associated with the most foolhardy of shinies.

Rex merely raised an eyebrow at her as he sat down heavily on his bed. “Don’t get dirt on my chair, vod’ika.”

“I’m older than you,” Ahsoka complained with the cadence of an old argument.

Something in Rex’s face shuttered. “You haven’t been older than me for three years.”

(Cody was _pretty_ sure that three years ago, Rex had been fourteen and Ahsoka had been eleven, so that didn’t add up.)

Ahsoka stared at him blankly, looking - for once - just as confused as Cody felt. He cleared his throat, tapping his foot pointedly against the edge of Rex’s bed. “You two wanted to talk."

“Right,” Ahsoka said slowly, sharing a glance with Rex. “Where do we start?”

“Try the beginning,” Cody suggested, letting his shoulders slacken as he shifted gears from _Commander_ to _ori’vod._ He had a feeling it was going to be one of _those_ talks.

Rex snorted. “Wherever the hell the beginning is.”

The silence stretched. Cody waited.

“Rex and I have done this before,” Ahsoka said finally. “This - exactly this. These battles, the downtime, all of it. We’ve already lived it. And then...” Her voice shook. “Then I died.”

“I died seven years after her,” Rex said lowly. Ahsoka startled. “That was… twenty-six years from now. Nineteen, for Ahsoka.”

Cody blinked. “I… don’t understand,” he admitted, looking between them, wondering if he ought to be checking them into the medbay. “What are you trying to say?”

Rex took a deep breath. “It’s - we died,” he said, voice rough. “And then we woke up back here, somehow. At the start of the war.”

“So you -” Cody shook his head, trying to get the whirlwind of thoughts to settle. “You came back from the future? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Apparently.” Rex looked to Ahsoka. “I’m still not convinced that it’s not a roundabout Imperial interrogation -”

Ahsoka shook her head. “Even the Emperor couldn’t keep something like this up for this long. Not without something… breaking. I would have noticed.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Rex muttered.

Cody held up a hand. Both of them startled like they’d forgotten he was there.

“So,” he said carefully. “What happened?”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-1007 “Blackout”_

_Other Participants - CC-1010 “Fox”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-2224 “Cody” [offline]_

_Wolffe_ \- Update.

 _Wolffe_ \- convinced General Plo to grab Rex if Kenobi sends him back to Kamino

 _Blackout_ \- oh thank the force

 _Fox_ \- How are your shinies shaping up, by the way?

 _Wolffe_ \- still don’t believe the Jedi care about us

 _Wolffe_ \- Ill pummel it into em if I have to

 _Blackout_ \- dont beat ur shinies

 _Blackout_ \- anyway i stole codys access codes

 _Blackout_ \- and general skywalkers

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Cody’s going to kill you

 _Blackout_ \- it is what it is

 _Blackout_ \- the important thing is that theres no records of any missions to kashyyyk

 _Blackout_ \- or abafar

 _Fox_ \- I haven’t found anything on my end either

 _Fox_ \- Nobody assigned to Senator Yarua speaks Shyriiwook

 _Blackout_ \- u still REALLY want to be spec ops huh

 _Mr. Secura_ \- him and wolffe

 _Wolffe_ \- don’t compare me to him

 _Fox_ \- Don’t compare me to him.

 _Blackout_ \- wow

* * *

Rex explained about the chips first.

Ahsoka fidgeted as he talked, plucking at a loose thread in her sleeveless red tunic. She missed her armor from Mandalore, or the armor she’d worn during the later years of the Rebellion - she felt incredibly exposed without it, and yet she’d fought an entire war without anything more than a tunic and leggings.

For some kriffing reason. Being a teenager should be _illegal._ No, actually, being a teenager was fine. It was the puberty part that should be illegal.

...oh, Force, she was going to have to go through puberty again. _Ugh._

“Ahsoka?”

Ahsoka startled. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly, glancing between them. Cody looked like he’d been slapped by a gundark, while Rex just looked tired. “What?”

“I was explaining Mandalore,” Rex said. “Thought you might want to weigh in.”

“Right.” Ahsoka crossed her legs, as if she was about to meditate. “So, Maul had taken over the planet…”

She kept the story to the bare bones, skipping over most of it in favor of her conversation with Maul (the one just before their duel) and the subsequent events.

Rex shut his eyes when she reached the point where the Order had been issued. Ahsoka’s heart ached for him - she let her eyes close as she spoke and reached through the Force, through the _bond_ that had formed so slowly that Ahsoka hadn’t even realized it was there until it had almost been severed.

(They’d been elbow-deep into separate missions on Seelos when Rex had _screamed_ into her mind and she’d known that he was dying. If she’d been any slower - she didn’t want to think about it.)

A little bit of tension in Rex’s shoulders eased as Ahsoka tried to soothe his guilt. She brushed over most of the details, but her throat stuck when she mentioned releasing Maul.

 _Should I have let him die_ was a question she’d asked herself many, many times. She’d never found a satisfactory answer.

_(I am no Jedi.)_

She sketched out what happened next - running from the Empire, splitting up, joining the Rebellion, working together again - she mentioned Kashyyyk, Ibaar, Ryloth, and Ord Mantell; glossed over Seelos, Nar Kanji, and Bogden; and didn’t mention Shili at all.

(Shili was the biggest point in favor of letting Maul die.)

Rex was injured, Gregor needed someone to keep him out of trouble, so Rex retired and Ahsoka worked on her own. Then Ahsoka had needed his help again, and then -

_Malachor._

She got as far as Vader’s arrival before she started to cry.

“C’mere,” Rex said roughly.

Ahsoka launched herself at him, banging her shin painfully against the back of Rex’s chair in her haste. “I’m sorry!” she cried into his shoulder, flinging her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry, I _tried_ -”

“I know, kid,” Rex replied, because he was a _shabuir_ who was _younger than her, dammit._ “It’s okay.”

Ahsoka sniffled. She was going to get snot and tears _all over_ his armor, Force, it was going to be so embarrassing later - but she didn’t stop crying. Couldn’t, somehow.

Rex continued the story. Ahsoka was only half-listening - Rex was safe and solid and felt like home (and more pressingly, Ahsoka felt slightly weaker than a damp tissue at the moment, so lifting her head was probably beyond her). She heard Cody suck in a breath as Rex revealed Darth Vader’s true identity, but she was only vaguely paying attention when he mentioned Scarif and what happened after.

Alderaan. Force, an entire _planet,_ blown to dust just like that. All those _people._

But their Princess had survived, and she was rescued by -

“Wait a minute,” she croaked, raising her head. “Skyguy had a _kid?”_

“Apparently,” Rex replied, dry as dust. “And if you take your montral out of my jaw, I’ll even tell you about him.”

“Right!” Ahsoka hastily resituated herself so she was sitting next to Rex, instead of draped over him like some Dagobah vine. Her voice was still wet and wobbly, but she listened with renewed intensity as Rex described Luke Skywalker.

“He was a _terrible_ liar,” Rex drawled. “Even worse than Fives or Bly. Kid couldn’t convince a wookiee that grass was green.”

“You’re not so great at that yourself, you know,” Cody said dryly. It was the first time he’d spoken since Ahsoka had talked about Mandalore.

It figured, really, that Cody would break his silence to tease Rex.

“I killed six Inquisitors and faked my own death,” Rex deadpanned. “I’ve learned.”

Ahsoka swatted his arm. “It was _five_ and two of them were accidents. Also, you didn’t fake your death, you just got so close to dying that the Empire thought you’d actually managed it.”

“Details,” Rex declared as Cody sputtered.

“You have to tell me more about him later,” Ahsoka decided, tucking her knees under her chin. “What happened after he rescued the Princess?”

“Am I telling a bedtime story?” Rex complained, but he obliged.

He spoke about the Battle of Yavin, the destruction of the Death Star - then three years of fighting, the scramble to evacuate Hoth, and the _second kriffing Death Star._

“My team was supposed to take down the shield generators,” Rex said tonelessly. “I wasn’t wearing my armor. We’d used stormtrooper disguises. I - was shot.”

 _Oh, Rex._ Ahsoka pressed her shoulder against his comfortingly. On Rex’s other side, Cody did the same.

Rex took a deep breath, clenching his fists tightly. “It slowed me down,” he said, voice brittle. “I - I didn’t -”

“Rex, it’s okay,” Cody murmured. “You don’t have to -”

A harsh sob caught in Rex’s throat. “When I woke up I was still _tasting it -_ I -”

Ahsoka reached through the bond. Her emotions were still shaky, but she _could_ offer comfort. Especially to Rex, her best and oldest friend.

Rex shuddered. Ahsoka felt the raw rage in their bond begin to break down as Rex finally allowed himself to cry.

* * *

“So what are we going to _do?”_ Cody asked. He was remarkably steady, considering everything they’d just dumped onto his shoulders; Rex appreciated it. He wasn’t feeling too steady himself.

“We have to get through Teth first,” Ahsoka said quietly. “Then we can worry about everything else.”

 _Teth._ Force, Rex had hoped he would never have to go back there. Teth had been a kriffing _massacre,_ Torrent Company had nearly been wiped out -

“A test,” Rex said, realization dawning. “If we _can_ change what happens there -”

Ahsoka’s face lit up. “Then we can change everything!” she cried. “I mean, I was going to try and do that anyway, but I didn’t really know where to start.”

“All right.” Cody nodded. “But we’re spreading the news of the chips _now._ I don’t want to wait around while brothers are being jerked around like puppets on strings.”

Rex nodded. “Be careful,” he said. “If the wrong person finds out...”

“I’ll read Blackout in,” Cody assured him. “We’ll be fine.”

Special operations troopers were some of the best slicers and data security personnel in the entire galaxy. Having Blackout securing their communications would be invaluable. Rex nodded sharply. “Do it.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-2224 “Cody”_

_Other Participants - CC-1010 “Fox”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-1007 “Blackout”_

_Cody_ \- okay

 _Cody_ \- holy kriff

 _Blackout_ \- ???

 _Cody_ \- I need

 _Cody_ \- so much alcohol

 _Cody_ \- addendum to next leave plans - get rex super drunk also

 _Fox_ \- I am not bailing either of you out of a court-martial

 _Cody_ \- you know what? Thats fine. Im not even mad

 _Mr. Secura_ \- you okay?

 _Cody_ \- nope!

 _Cody_ \- not even close!

 _Cody_ \- I don’t know what the kriff is happening anymore

 _Cody_ \- we’ve all got SLAVE CHIPS in our heads

 _Cody_ \- and the chancellor is the one who put them there

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be clear, Cody did not get a blow-by-blow of the whole Clone Wars and Rebellion - that would take _way_ too long and technically the three of them have work they need to be doing. He got the broad strokes and the basic chain of cause-and-effect that ran through that whole twenty-odd years.
> 
> Mando'a Translations  
>  _vod'ika_ \- little sibling  
>  _ori'vod_ \- big sibling  
>  _shabuir_ \- fucker, bastard, asshole, etc


	8. As A Commander Should

_ Chat opened - this is an intervention _

_ Welcome, CC-2224 “Cody” _

_ Other Participants - CC-1010 “Fox”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-1007 “Blackout” _

-

_ Fox -  _ what

_ Fox _ \- WHAT

_ Wolffe  _ \- what the KRIFF are you talking about

_ Mr. Secura _ \- haar’CHAK

_ Mr. Secura _ \- how bad?

_ Cody _ \- really really bad

_ Cody _ \- theres a bunch of orders they can make us do by activating them

_ Cody _ \- I dont know how it works exactly but

_ Cody _ \- I think theres a selftermination order

_ Cody _ \- and one to kill the Jedi

_ Wolffe _ \- the JEDI?

_ Mr. Secura _ \- the Jedi????

_ Fox _ \- No, shut up, hold on, wait a minute

_ Fox _ \- what the kriff do you mean ‘the Chancellor is the one who put them there’?

_ Cody _ \- I dont KNOW fox

_ Cody _ \- I barely understand it myself

_ Cody _ \- but the chips can make us do anything

_ Cody _ \- and it sounds like we wouldnt even remember afterwards

_ Fox _ \- We wouldn’t

_ Fox _ \- sithspit

_ Fox _ \- SITHSPIT

_ [CC-1010 has logged off] _

_ Wolffe _ \- how do we get them OUT

_ Blackout _ \- slightly more pressingly

_ Blackout _ \- how do you know, cody?

_ Cody _ \- Rex told me

_ Cody _ \- you know how weird hes been acting?

_ Cody _ \- and how he and Tano know each other?

_ Cody _ \- they found out about the chips

_ Mr. Secura _ \- How???

_ Blackout  _ \- do they have proof?

_ Wolffe _ \- we have to tell the Generals

_ Cody  _ \- not yet

_ Cody _ \- We dont have any Proof

_ Cody _ \- We cant talk to the Jedi until we can prove it

_ Blackout _ \- then i guess we'd better GET some shabla proof

* * *

Anakin raised an eyebrow as Ahsoka perched on the edge of the holoprojector. Rex stood at her right, hands clasped behind his back, examining the diagram with an assessing eye. Commander Blackout was on Anakin’s left, shooting the occasional inscrutable glance at Rex.

Weird. But considering Christophsis, not that weird.

The data on the projector had just come from a pair of Blackout’s operatives. The B’omarr Monastery that Ahsoka had mentioned stood in front of them now, outlined in translucent blue lines.

"They’ll be keeping Jabba’s son on the detention level, somewhere around… here,” Ahsoka pronounced, highlighting a section of sublevels red. “The Separatists will have encamped on the landing platform with artillery, and they’ll have reinforcements stacked between the entrance and the Hutt.”

Rex hummed in agreement. Hesitantly, Anakin reached out with the Force - but his captain seemed to have settled in the hours since Christophsis. Anger was still wrapped around him like a second set of armor, and he had yet to turn his back on Anakin, but his old confidence was back. The man didn’t feel like he was waiting for a shot in the back anymore.

“It’s definitely a trap,” Rex murmured. “If the Separatists are holding Jabba’s kid, then they’re not just after shipping routes - they’re trying to drive a wedge between the Hutt clans and the Republic.”

“Doesn’t Jabba have family on Coruscant?” Ahsoka said thoughtfully. “A brother, or an uncle?”

Blackout looked down at his datapad. “Ziro Desilijic Tiure,” he said after a few moments. “Jabba the Hutt’s uncle. Born on Sleheyron, currently residing in the lower levels of Coruscant. High-ranking member of the Hutt Clan, unconfirmed ties to the Black Sun syndicate.”

“Useful,” Ahsoka declared. “Creepy, but useful.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Blackout deadpanned. “That is my job.”

“You think he’s involved in Rotta’s kidnapping?” Anakin asked, bracing his hands on the projector as he leaned forward.

“The Separatists couldn’t have arranged it on their own, sir,” Rex broke in. “They would have needed inside knowledge of Rotta and Jabba’s movements, in order to strike when the infant was least protected. Inside knowledge that  _ family _ might have.”

Blackout hummed. “So their goal is… what? If they wanted to secure the shipping lanes for themselves, they could just fake the kidnapping and return the kid themselves.”

“It’s not about the shipping lanes,” Ahsoka said, shifting her weight to lean forward, eyes narrowed in speculation. “The Separatists want the Hutt Clan  _ on their side. _ Having their blessing to use shipping lanes is only the first step. Jabba could offer supplies, munitions, even troops to the Separatist cause if he thinks he’s getting revenge for his son.”

_ And slaves. _ Anakin’s gut twisted at the idea of  _ helping Jabba, _ but the idea of Jabba working with the Separatists was worse. He’d sooner let the droids and the Hutts tear each other apart, if he didn’t have  _ orders _ to intervene.

Kriffing  _ orders. _ Whose idea was it to send him on this mission anyway? He hated Hutts.

“I’ll pass the information along,” Blackout said neutrally. “Now, I believe we have an assault strategy to cover.”

“Right!” Ahsoka pointed to the entrance of the monastery. “If the Separatists are trying to frame us for Rotta dying, which is pretty likely, all things considered, then they’ll try to kill him as soon as they have proof of us interacting with him. So the initial attack will probably be relatively easy - the hardest part will be scaling the pillar.”

“Then once they’ve taken the monastery, they come in with a second wave and wipe us out,” Rex said dully.

Ahsoka nodded, gnawing at her lip. “So we  _ don’t _ take the monastery.”

Hmm.  _ Interesting. _ Blackout shifted nervously, but Anakin regarded his padawan curiously. This sounded like the start of one of  _ his  _ plans. He felt like he should be proud. “Oh? Then what’s your plan, Snips?”

“We send in a small strike team,” she said immediately. “While the main force of Torrent attacks the front of the monastery, the strike team can sneak in the back - through this side platform, here.” She indicated the part of the blueprints. “The best approach would be to land on this pillar  _ here  _ and traverse to the monastery proper using jetpacks - or, you know, the local wildlife,” she added with a grin.

Rex raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Commander…”

“It’ll be fine, Rex,” Ahsoka assured him. “Teth wildlife isn’t worse than Kashyyyk.”

What?

“Kashyyyk wildlife is a  _ very _ high bar to clear,” Rex said dryly. “I’m surprised I don’t have scars from that damn Wyyyshokk.”

The  _ what? _

“Hence the jetpacks!” Ahsoka declared, grinning.

“When did either of you go to Kashyyyk?” Anakin wanted to know.

Rex and Ahsoka exchanged glances. “Not important,” Ahsoka decided, refocusing on the hologram. “Anyway, while you and the rest of Torrent engages the enemy in the courtyard, I can take a small group of men and retrieve Rotta. We get out, Torrent retreats and picks us up, we all head back to the  _ Resolute _ and head over to Tatooine to drop off the baby.”

Anakin grinned. “You make it sound easy.”

Ahsoka huffed. “Straightforward, maybe. Easy? We’ll see.”

“I’ll round up some of my boys,” Rex said. “I’ve got a few in mind.”

“Now, hold on,” Anakin interrupted. “It’s a good plan!” he said, holding up his hands. “Don’t get me wrong.  _ But _ you need to think your good ideas through.”

Rex coughed. “Like you do, sir?”

“I think things through!” Anakin protested. “Mostly! Besides, I know  _ I _ can figure things out on the fly.” He looked over to his Padawan, eyebrows raised. “So? If the distraction doesn’t work, what are you going to do?”

“Depends on where we are when the droids show up,” Ahsoka said, and launched into a handful of options for exfiltrating under heavy fire.

Huh.  _ Huh. _ A newly-minted Padawan couldn’t be expected to have any battlefield experience, but… apparently, Ahsoka did. And not just  _ some _ experience, either - a lot of it, judging by how much she knew about tactics, strategy, and other not-getting-shot-by-droids things.

“All right,” Anakin nodded, rocking onto his back foot after Ahsoka had matched his scenarios to his satisfaction. “Good work. Any objections?” he asked, glancing between Blackout and Rex.

Rex shook his head, as Anakin had expected. He and Ahsoka were practically a unit unto themselves. “None, General.”

Blackout shrugged. “No objections, sir.”

“Excellent.” Anakin grinned. Despite the…  _ Hutt element, _ he always enjoyed the challenge of a new battlefield. “Captain Rex, prepare your men. Commander Blackout, have you received your new orders yet?”

“Yes, General.”

“Then you’re formally dismissed.” Blackout saluted and left. “Ahsoka.” Anakin turned to his new Padawan. “Meet me in the training room. I want to see how well you can fight before we land on Teth.”

The atmosphere dropped to freezing before the words were even out of Anakin’s mouth.

Rex took a breath like he was about to say something (around him, the Force soured) but Ahsoka glanced at him and he subsided. Ahsoka slid off the edge of the holoprojector, landing lightly on her feet and facing him. She clasped her hands behind her back. “Of course. Master.”

“You know, you don’t have to call me Master.” The words were out of Anakin’s mouth before he could stop them. He cringed internally - of course she did, that was the Jedi way. Wasn’t it?

Ahsoka blinked. “But - then, what should I call you?”

Well, no going back now. He was just going to have to deal with the lecture from Obi-Wan. “General is fine. Or just Anakin.”

“Anakin,” Ahsoka muttered, frowning at the middle distance. “Well, General Skywalker, I’ll be waiting in the training room.”

Temple formality. They were going to have to work on that.

* * *

_ Chat opened - this is an intervention _

_ Welcome, CC-2224 “Cody” _

_ Other Participants - CC-1010 “Fox” [offline], CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-1007 “Blackout” _

-

_ Cody has added CT-7567 “Rex” _

-

_ Cody _ \- The shabuir himself, gentlemen

_ Rex _ \- oh not this again

_ Rex _ \- okay what

_ Wolffe _ \- the kriff u mean WHAT

_ Wolffe _ \- EXPLAIN YOURSELF

_ Rex _ \- ur gonna have to be more specific

_ Blackout _ \- how do you know about the chips

_ Blackout _ \- if u know about them why dont u have proof

_ Blackout _ \- how do u know palps is behind it

_ Rex _ \- great questions!

_ Rex _ \- i hate it

_ Rex _ \- im also incapable of answering

_ Blackout _ \- my clearance is higher than yours

_ Rex _ \- its adorable how u think that matters

_ Wolffe _ \- Well how do we stop the chips???

_ Wolffe _ \- can we block them??

_ Mr. Secura _ \- How are they activated?

_ Cody  _ \- Rex????

_ Rex _ \- sorry im makin sure skywalker doesnt kill ahsoka

_ Rex _ \- had to move

_ Rex _ \- um

_ Rex _ \- idk how much i can tell u

_ Mr. Secura _ \- I think we’re a little past that point

_ Rex _ \- no not for that

_ Rex _ \- i trust my source 100% but my source doesnt know everything

_ Blackout _ \- yeah fair

_ Rex _ \- okay lemme see what i can do for answers

* * *

Ahsoka faced Anakin across the sparring ring and tried really hard not to think of anything at all.

She did not think about the last time she’d fought him, she did not think about how badly his lightsaber had burned when it had cut into her chest, and she  _ definitely _ did not think about how easy it was to see Anakin in Darth Vader’s attacks - or Darth Vader in Anakin’s.

She spent so much time not thinking about all of these things that she barely remembered to focus on the fi -  _ spar. _ On the spar.

Rex was waiting on the sidelines, helmet on, arms crossed. He was definitely scowling under his helmet; Ahsoka could feel it.

She blocked a strike from Anakin, then dodged the next, rolling under his guard and delivering a vicious undercut. But Anakin had anticipated her and jumped back, parrying her blade with his own; she backed away, circling him warily, looking for a weak spot.

Anakin had always been reckless. His patience would break; he would attack again.

And he did - a powerful overhand strike that would  _ cleave her in two, move move move - _

Ahsoka reacted automatically, crossing her blades to catch Anakin’s over her head; she kicked out at his knee. Anakin grunted, staggered, but bore down on her.

She needed to get out of the bladelock  _ now. _ Her fourteen-year-old body didn’t have the strength to fight it.

_ There is no emotion, there is the Force. _ Ahsoka  _ pushed,  _ sending Anakin stumbling backwards - not far, but far enough. Ahsoka rolled backwards, crouching in a defensive stance with her teeth bared.

It was a common misconception that Togruta were venomous. Ahsoka had used that misconception to her advantage many times.

_ “Careful,” she hissed, looming over the bounty hunter and grinning wide despite the cuffs on her wrists. “I bite.” _

_ In the shadows, Rex waited for her signal. _

But Anakin just straightened up, deactivating his lightsaber and - grinning?

Oh. Of course.

Ahsoka felt a little stupid as she followed suit, replacing her lightsabers on her belt (ignoring the way her third saber bumped awkwardly against her hand) and bowing politely.

“Not bad,” Anakin praised, forgoing formality - no surprise there - in favor of clapping her on the shoulder. (Rex twitched in the background.) “You’ve got some work to do tightening up your form, and I’m curious to see how you’d do with only one lightsaber -” Historically, very poorly, “- but you’re definitely ready for combat.”

Of course she was. She’d been in combat since she was fourteen the  _ first _ time - nineteen years ago.

...stars, when did she turn thirty-three?

“Thank you, General Skywalker,” she said, instead of voicing any of that. “If there’s nothing else, I should go speak to my team.”

Something like approval crinkled the laugh lines on Anakin’s face. “Of course,” he agreed, stepping back. “As a Commander should.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Rex - *discussing the Separatist's strategies*  
> Anakin - where the fuck are you getting your intel
> 
> Next chapter, Ahsoka meets her team and Torrent Company lands on Teth.


	9. Kominkir̀ Nan

Ahsoka fell into step next to Rex with the ease of long practice, humming absently under her breath as she read through the names and records of her men. _Am_ _inkir̀, aminkir̀, aminkir̀ tr̀amplas -_

“These are the original survivors,” she realized suddenly, stopping dead in her tracks and staring up at Rex. “You’re giving me the _Teth Six.”_

Attie, Coric, Del, Ridge, Nax, and Zeer. _Force, poor Ridge._ She’d known all of these men - Nax only for a little while, Attie for less than that, but she’d _known them._ Ridge, Del, and Coric had gone through the war with her, right alongside Rex himself.

It was just that they’d stopped, when the war had ended.

(She’d buried Ridge and Del and marked their graves with their helmets, but Coric had left with Anakin and - she didn’t want to think about it.)

“I trust you,” Rex said quietly. “To bring them home.”

Ahsoka beamed at him, warmed by the simple faith he had in her. To her, it felt like only hours had passed between their last conversation and their reunion on Christophsis, but to Rex - _seven years._

She couldn’t imagine going _seven years_ without knowing he was out there somewhere. And yet he had fallen in beside her like she’d never been gone.

Ahsoka looked back down at the datapad. “I guess I’d better go introduce myself, huh?”

Rex inclined his head. “I guess you should.”

* * *

Rex hovered in the background as Ahsoka met her squad, busying himself with his datapad as he organized his men for the assault.

Not that he was fooling anyone - he could tell that Del kept shooting him little glances under his helmet. Zeer, who had never been terribly subtle, was outright staring behind his visor. He supposed that was fair - his boys were the curious types, and he’d pulled some of them out of their own squads to work with Ahsoka.

 _His boys._ How long had it been since he’d had men to command?

“Sir,” Del said hesitantly, once Ahsoka had finished briefing them on the plan. “If you don’t mind me asking… why us? Why not a real squad?”

Ahsoka’s levity fell away in favor of regal, steady confidence that looked incredibly out of place on her fourteen-year-old shoulders. “Because Rex trusts you,” she said simply, lifting her chin to look Del in the eye. “And so do I.”

Rex smiled faintly as Ridge straightened up. The shiny - _Ridge was still a shiny_ \- was practically vibrating.

Ahsoka grinned. “Any questions?”

“No, sir!”

Rex chuckled, straightening up and stowing his datapad. “I need to address the others, Commander,” he said, nodding to Del. “If your men are set -”

Ahsoka glanced at her men before nodding. “We’re all set here, Rex. Watch out for the wildlife,” she added mischievously.

“You’re just mad that you’ve already made the Kashyyyk comparison,” Rex said, his face cracking into a grin as Ahsoka squawked indignantly.

He understood, he really did - Kashyyyk had been _safe._ Oh, they’d had their share of troubles on that planet, and the Imperial invasion had been real enough, but they’d come out the other side without any fresh nightmares. So, despite the fact that it had been _absolute insanity,_ it was the kind of absolute insanity that Rex could relegate into the ‘wacky hijinks’ part of his brain.

It was nice to have something like that. A reliable fallback story to tell when things got too dark to bear alone.

(It wasn’t a good sign that Ahsoka kept _bringing it up,_ but that was a problem for after they fixed Teth.)

* * *

_Chat opened - Vibin’_

_Welcome, CC-2224 “here for ur codes”_

_Other Participants - CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-6454 “Pondscum”_

\--

 _here for ur codes_ \- @Pondscum

 _Pondscum_ \- ?

 _here for ur codes_ \- you still on Coruscant?

 _Pondscum_ \- ye

 _Pondscum_ \- Why? Whats going on

 _Pondscum_ \- ive got a dozen messages from your inner circle and none of them make sense

 _here for ur codes_ \- I’ll DM u in a bit

 _here for ur codes_ \- have u heard from Fox? He dropped out of contact and Im getting worried

 _Pondscum_ \- haven’t heard from anyone in the guard all day. Not unusual tho, we dont exactly talk much. Theyre pretty busy

 _Pondscum_ \- despite the fact the coruscant HAS a civilian security force?

 _here for ur codes_ \- kriff

 _Pondscum_ \- He’ll be okay. Hes a big boy

 _here for ur codes_ \- He’d better be okay or I will personally kick his shebs myself

* * *

“Ridge, your comm’s got -”

_Smack._

“...static.” Del sighed.

“Thanks, Commander,” Ridge said sheepishly, rubbing the side of his head. “Should have checked it before we loaded up.”

Commander Tano grinned. “No harm done. Percussive maintenance is an honored Jedi pastime.”

“Really?” Zeer said eagerly, swaying with the motion of the gunship.

“Only if you’re General Skywalker!”

Attie laughed. So did Nax and Ridge. Zeer, on the other hand, outright _cackled._

Attie and Coric were all Del’s men. Everyone else was an unknown quantity - especially Ridge, who was the shiniest shiny Del had ever seen. Who the _kriff_ forgot to check their comms before loading up?

_Rex trusts you, and so do I._

Del hadn’t even realized he was on the Captain’s radar. He _definitely_ hadn’t realized he was on the _Jedi’s_ radar, especially a Jedi that had only spent, what, a day with the 501st?

He thought of the murmured conversation he’d overheard between the Commander and the Captain, just before deployment.

_Hold onto this for me, would you?_

_Your… lightsaber?_

_I don’t need three of them. It’ll just get in the way. Besides, consider it insurance - this way, I know you’ll get out of this mess alive._

_As if I came all this way to die on kriffing_ Teth. _Kominkir̀ klin?_

_Kominkir̀ nan, ner vod._

Very weird.

Del shrugged it off. Rex was a good CO, a good man, and Commander Tano was his superior officer. He’d do his duty, same as any brother.

He was just… curious.

* * *

_Chat opened - bitching hours_

_Welcome, CC-2224 “codeified badass”_

_Other Participants - CT-7567 “Rex” [offline], CC-1010 “Fox” [offline]_

\--

 _codeified badass_ \- rex ignore this

 _codeified badass_ \- fox do not ignore this

 _codeified badass_ \- @Fox

 _codeified badass_ \- check in ok? Let us know ur okay

 _codeified badass_ \- and haven’t done anything stupid

* * *

_“Red light, stand by. Welcome to paradise, rock jumpers!”_

_“Green light - go, go, go!”_

General Skywalker sprang from the gunship as soon as the doors opened. Troopers poured out after him - and at the front of it all was Rex.

The more droids he killed, the fewer of his brothers would die. So he killed as many as he could.

It wasn’t hard - most of the clankers were up on the pillar, with only a scattered force patrolling the jungle below. Still, he saw two men drop - one was dragged away by a medic, the other, with a neat hole drilled between his eyes, was left behind. They could collect the dead later.

“Follow me!” Skywalker shouted.

Rex snarled and obeyed.

The rocky overhang scratched at his armor, poking at the black bodysuit below, but it provided cover for the men as they pressed themselves against the pillar. Right on cue, a B1 fell from above and was smacked on the head by its own scopes. Someone - _Xloy’a,_ his brain supplied helpfully - laughed.

Rex did not. “Bugs, Holdout,” he snapped into his comm. “Are your men in position?”

_“Yes, sir!”_

Skywalker grinned - and Rex would be lying if he said he hadn’t missed this.

“Ascension cables!” Rex barked as Skywalker leaped into the air, grabbing one of the pillar’s vines. “Fann, how are the tanks?”

 _“Lucky shot took one out,”_ Fann growled. _“We’ve relocated a bit east and they’re still firing on our last position. Ready when you are.”_

Rex grinned. “Fire at will, Lieutenant,” he ordered, reaching for his jetpack controls (well, jetpack boots - less power, more maneuverability). “Time to have some fun.”

Skywalker yelped in surprise as Rex went soaring past him, cackling like a madman. His boots _thudded_ against the stone as he twisted around, tossing a mocking salute down at Skywalker, who shouted indignantly and jumped up to join him.

Yeah, he’d definitely missed this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, I did make an entire conlang just for this fic, where I will use like ten words of the whole language, why do you ask?
> 
> Togruti Translations  
>  _Aminkir̀, aminkir̀, aminkir̀ tr̀amplas_ \- hunt, hunt, wild hunt  
>  _Kominkir̀ klin? Kominkir̀ nan_ \- Good hunting? Best hunting; a traditional Togruti farewell
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _Ner vod_ \- my sibling  
>  _Shebs_ \- ass
> 
> (fun pronunciation notes - in Togruti, all “r” sounds are rolled and the emphasis is always on the second syllable)


	10. A Little Ballistic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning - brief suicide mention

The _Twilight_ was waiting on the pillar where Hawk set the gunship down. Ahsoka gave the battered old hull a fond pat - _good to see you, you old grease bucket_ \- as she reached out with the Force, scanning their surroundings.

Droids didn’t show up in the Force, not like flesh-and-blood beings did. But they still left an impression.

“Zeer, go to town,” she ordered, jerking a thumb at the battered old freighter. “Try not to break it any more than it’s already broken. We might need a ride off this rock.”

 _“Aw, what am I, Commander?”_ Hawk protested. _“Chopped gutkurr?”_

Ahsoka grinned. “Always good to have a backup plan.”

Hawk’s grumbling cut away as the gunship flew off, flying towards the main battle. Ahsoka shook her head, fondness making the ends of her mouth curl upwards.

She _had_ missed these men. These brilliant, tragic men, so full of _life_ that she could sink into a meditation and never emerge, just to wrap herself in it.

But she had a job to do. “Anything useful, Zeer?”

“Nothing, sir.” Something clattered loudly inside the _Twilight,_ followed immediately by Zeer cursing. “Transponder code marks her as a Seppie ship, but it looks like the navicomputer’s been wiped, and the onboard computers too. We’d have to fly this junker back to _Resolute_ to get anything useful out of it.”

“Mm.” Ahsoka cocked her head towards the monastery, reaching towards the battle. Casualties were - lower than she’d expected. But still heavy. Rex was making a customary nuisance of himself, and it seemed to be bolstering morale - he was even keeping up with Anakin. “Download the fuel computer. General Skywalker might be able to pull something out of that.” She gestured to the others. “Coric, Attie, Nax, you’re with me. Del, you and the others stay here and guard our exit. _Be careful,”_ she added, gesturing to the _Twilight._ “If I’m right, this is Ventress’s ride off this rock - if she approaches, don’t try to engage. Get to safety and comm me, I’ll deal with her myself. And watch out for a spy droid,” she added. “Likely masquerading as a custodian of the monastery.”

“Yessir,” Del said crisply, motioning sharply towards the rest of the men. Ahsoka stepped towards the edge of the platform as Coric, Attie, and Nax approached. “One of you needs a backpack.”

“Got you covered, sir.”

Ahsoka nodded as Coric spoke. “Good man."

The distance to the monastery was too far to jump, but those hunting flies were _everywhere._ She reached out with the Force, letting her eyes slide shut as she called out to them.

Working with animals had always been Master Kenobi’s specialty, not hers, but she had a bit of talent for it. The hunting flies weren’t too complex, as beasts went - it was a simple matter to coax one away from it’s pack.

“Er, Commander -”

“It’s all right, Coric,” Ahsoka said serenely, opening her eyes to see the hunting fly she’d called buzzing towards them. “This one’s my ride.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-1010 “Fox”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Cody”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe” [offline], CC-1007 “Blackout”, CT-7567 “Rex” [offline]_

\--

 _Fox -_ @Cody he’s okay

 _Blackout_ \- ??

 _Fox_ \- this is Stone btw

 _Cody_ \- Thank kriff

 _Mr. Secura_ \- What happened???

 _Fox_ \- you know I’m not 100 percent sure

 _Fox_ \- he came storming out of his office, checked a rifle out of the armory, and left

 _Cody_ \- … not great

 _Fox_ \- not at all

 _Fox_ \- I grabbed a couple of my boys and followed him. Turns out he was headed for the Senate building.

 _Mr. Secura_ \- even MORE not great

 _Fox_ \- lucky we took him down before he got there, or we’d be down a commander and the whole garrison would be under investigation

 _Fox_ \- which trust me is the LAST thing we need

 _Fox_ \- so someone had better give me a good kriffing explanation as to WHY fox decided to go off the rails before I report all of you for inciting a mutiny

 _Mr. Secura_ \- You wouldn’t dare.

 _Blackout_ \- no he would. stone is in bacaras good graces remember?

 _Mr. Secura_ \- I take it back. You’d definintely dare.

 _Cody_ \- definintely

 _Blackout_ \- definintely

 _Cody_ \- okay Stone

 _Cody_ \- if you want the whole sorry tale, scroll up to yesterday

 _Cody_ \- but the short version is: Rex and Commander Tano discovered that we have slave chips in our heads that can make us do anything, including but not limited to killing the Jedi, our brothers, and ourselves, and we wouldn’t remember anything afterwards. Also, the Chancellor is the one responsible for them.

 _Fox_ \- ...okay

 _Fox_ \- I can see why hed go a little ballistic

 _Fox_ \- IM going a little ballistic

 _Blackout_ \- where is fox anyway

 _Fox_ \- medbay. sleeping off a triple stunner

 _Mr. Secura_ \- RIP

 _Fox_ \- have you told your jedi yet?

 _Cody_ \- we need proof first. I trust rex, but the generals…

 _Fox_ \- understood

 _Fox_ \- do you know how to remove them?

 _Blackout_ \- brain surgery. Don’t know anything more

 _Fox_ \- so we can’t remove them until we know more

 _Cody_ \- basically. Blackout’s working on it, but it’s gonna take a while

 _Fox_ \- understood

 _Fox_ \- I’ll tell Thorn and Thire. We’ll let the other marshals know

 _Fox_ \- maybe we can’t stop the chips, but we can at least let the rest of the _vode_ know

* * *

Commander Tano landed lightly on the platform, reaching out to steady Nax as he stumbled, jetpack sputtering. Attie practically bounced off the ground as he landed, springing to his feet with all the enthusiasm of a shiny on his first day.

Coric double-checked his medpac, ensuring everything was still secure as the hunting fly the Commander had summoned - _summoned_ \- flew off with a buzz.

“Everyone okay?” Commander Tano peered around at them, lingering on Coric for just a moment longer. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Coric signaled for Attie to take rearguard and followed the Commander into the monastery. Nax fell into the middle without a word, keeping his blaster ready. It was surprisingly hard to keep an eye on the Commander; she didn’t move like a _vod,_ or even like General Skywalker. She seemed to flit from shadow to shadow, stalking through the halls like a rakghoul out of Tarisian myth. Her feet made no noise on the stone floor. When she turned back to look at them, her eyes glowed in the low light like a loth-cat’s.

 _Right,_ Coric remembered dimly. _Togrutas do that._

He chalked it up to Jedi in general being _guldin’la._

Commander Tano held up a hand as they approached the detention level. Her hands flew in rapid hand signals that didn’t make any sense before she paused, sighed, and formed two simple signals that every trooper knew.

_Droids. Hidden._

Attie hefted his rifle, but Commander Tano waved him down. _Hold position. Hold fire._

Before Coric could process exactly what that implied, Commander Tano was already strolling down the hallway, her lightsabers still hooked firmly on her belt. As soon as she passed the first doorway, battle droids filtered out into her wake, blasters aimed at her unprotected back.

Attie shot Coric a frantic look, scuffling forward and raising his rifle.

 _Hold fire._ Coric motioned for Attie to wait, staring hard as Commander Tano continued down the hallway, seemingly oblivious to the growing number of droids following her, blasters ready -

\- until two white lightsabers blazed to life and suddenly there were a lot fewer droids.

Coric aimed his blaster and pulled the trigger; behind him, Attie’s Z6 rattled to life. 

“How did you know that would work, sir?” Nax asked curiously, after the last droid had fallen.

Commander Tano grinned, revealing prominent canines. _“Kwopi yi bensko.”_

“I have _no_ idea what that means, sir.”

Commander Tano laughed. “Tell you what, Nax - once we get out of here, I’ll teach you some Togruti.” She sheathed her lightsabers - _white_ lightsabers, Coric didn’t even know lightsabers could _be_ white - and gestured to a closed door that was (Coric did a double-take) no longer closed. “Our huttlet’s in here. C’mon, Coric, I doubt the Separatists have been taking very good care of him.”

Even through the helmet filters, Coric could smell the hutt-stink wafting from inside the cell. The - empty cell?

A pathetic wail issued from the corner of the room. Commander Tano swooped forward, picking up a leathery slug about the size of a human toddler. “Aww, hi there Stinky!” the Commander cooed, rocking the huttlet in her arms. “Don’t you worry, we’ll get you back home to your daddy in no time. Even if your slime ruins my tunic.”

Coric hastily turned a snicker into a cough. “Want to put him in the backpack, sir?”

“Sure thing.” Commander Tano stepped behind him - Coric held still, letting out a slight _oof_ as the added weight of a baby slug was added to his back.

“I’m gonna have to burn all my armor,” Coric muttered, shifting the pack on his shoulders, then stopped as Commander Tano’s comm beeped.

* * *

“Rex!” Skywalker called. “How are we doing?”

“Sunny with a chance of clankers, sir!” Rex called back, pausing in his ascent to aim and fire at a B1 sticking its head over the edge - right into Rex’s sights.

“Nice shot,” Skywalker remarked as the B1 fell to its doom.

Belatedly, Rex realized that he’d become a better shot working with the Rebellion. Oh well. Let Skywalker wonder - it would be good for him.

(He’d _always_ been a sharpshooter, anyway, it was just that he’d become a _much better_ sharpshooter.)

_Boom._

Rex gritted his teeth as rocks and debris rained down on him. Skywalker grunted, skidding a few inches down the cliff. “Watch your fire!” he called into his comm. “We’re nearing the top!”

_“Copy that, Captain.”_

Rex swore there was a throat injury that made Fann’s voice that deep, but he couldn’t remember a thing about it. He _used_ to know - twenty-five years ago, when he was actually young.

His commlink beeped.

 _“Ventress is at the landing pad.”_ Ahsoka’s voice was urgent. _“Repeat, Asajj Ventress is at the landing pad, she has infiltrated the monastery.”_

 _Sithspit._ “Casualties?”

 _“None.”_ Something in Rex’s chest eased. _“Looks like she skipped her stop at the_ Twilight. _Moving to engage.”_

“What?!” Skywalker demanded, activating his own commlink. “Ahsoka, get out of there -”

_“No time to wait. See you at the rendezvous.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stone - what do you have??  
> fox - a GUN  
> stone - NO
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _vode_ \- siblings; in Clone dialect, "the vode" usually refers to the GAR  
>  _guldin’la_ \- half-mad
> 
> Togruti Translations  
>  _kwopi yi bensko_ \- luck and guts


	11. The Ultimate Expression of Trust

It took approximately zero seconds before Anakin started blowing up Ahsoka’s commlink.

Ahsoka, who was busy parrying Ventress’s lightsabers, elected not to respond.

“So, Padawan,” Ventress sneered. “Your Master has abandoned you. It’s a Jedi habit.”

Fourteen-year-old Ahsoka would have spat out a smart comeback. Hells, seventeen-year-old Ahsoka probably would have too. She hadn’t been nicknamed _Snips_ for her even, rational discourse.

But thirty-three-year-old Ahsoka remembered learning about Ventress’s past: the loss of her family, the death of her Jedi Master on Rattatak, her abandonment by Dooku once she’d outlived her usefulness. She could only pity Ventress, the angry woman who had helped her through Coruscant’s underbelly and spared the lives of the red-clad Guard because Ahsoka had _asked._

“The Jedi didn’t abandon Ky Narec,” Ahsoka said, watching Ventress’s eyes widen. “He chose to stay.”

“You know _nothing!”_ Ventress shouted, swinging down at Ahsoka’s head with vicious strength. “Jedi _brat -”_

Ahsoka danced away, reflecting that _maybe_ it wasn’t a great idea to make the Darksider _more_ angry, but whatever. “Do you think Dooku cares for you? I doubt it. The way of the Sith is selfishness, not compassion.”

“Do not speak to _me_ of the ways of the Sith,” Ventress spat. Once again, Ahsoka slipped to the side, circling around Ventress’s flank.

She wasn’t trying to kill Ventress. Perhaps she should, but - she couldn’t.

There was still hope for her, after all. If she was going to try and save Anakin, she couldn’t do any less for Ventress.

* * *

When Ahsoka didn’t pick up, Skywalker shot up the side of the cliff like a - well, like a Jedi after their Padawan. Fittingly enough.

Rex scrambled to keep up, his heart in his throat. He had faith in Ahsoka’s skills, but - he just had an awful feeling that _something_ was going to go wrong. There was a heaviness in his gut that usually meant someone was about to get hurt.

Usually someone Rex cared about.

Skywalker sprang onto the courtyard platform, lightsaber blazing. Rex was right behind him, lighting up the courtyard with his blasters.

There was a peculiar kind of connection between him and Ahsoka. She had tried to explain it to him once, after Seelos, but the Force had never made sense to him and Ahsoka (for all her virtues) had never had a solid grasp on _theory._ All Rex knew was that he was occasionally treated to bouts of emotion that were distinctly not his own and that he had felt it - deeply, viscerally, unmistakably - when Ahsoka had died on Malachor.

He didn’t feel that now, which meant she was okay. There was a tinge of sadness around the place in his head where Ahsoka lived, but that was all. She was okay - for now.

Skywalker plunged into the depths of the monastery with Rex on his heels.

* * *

Ventress hissed as she launched a series of vicious strikes at Ahsoka’s guard. Ahsoka parried most of them and dodged the rest, leaving her cornered at the edge of the landing pad.

_Go._ She pushed lightly on the minds of her men, hiding in the shadows of the entryway while she held Ventress’s attention.

“Give me the hutt, _youngling,”_ Ventress hissed. “And maybe I’ll make your death swift.”

Ahsoka grinned, sharp and feral, as Coric, Attie, and Nax activated their jetpacks and soared off towards the _Twilight_ ’s pillar - with baby Rotta still in Coric’s backpack. “You can try.”

Ventress’s eyes widened - she whirled, grabbing at the air; dark power coated Ahsoka’s tongue as Attie stuttered.

Ahsoka flung herself towards Ventress with a predatory snarl. White lightsabers crashed against red; Ahsoka _twisted,_ using the Force to fling herself up and over Ventress’s guard. She slashed at Ventress’s feet as she landed but Ventress blocked the strike and Pulled Attie closer.

Attie yelped as he crashed to the ground. Coric and Nax opened fire on Ventress but she deflected the bolts easily with one blade, holding the other to Attie’s throat.

“Give me the Huttlet,” she hissed, fixing Ahsoka with a venomous glare. “Or you man dies.”

Fear pulsed from Attie. Ahsoka’s eyes narrowed; she flashed her teeth in a snarl as she reached out with the Force and _yanked_.

Ventress flew towards her. Ahsoka raised her sabers, batting away the flailing strikes, and _twisted._

Her kick connected with Ventress’s ribs, driving the dark acolyte over the edge.

There was a small problem. Ahsoka had put _all_ of her momentum into that kick - and that momentum carried her into the abyss on Ventress’s heels.

Up on the platform, she heard a familiar voice scream her name.

* * *

_“AHSOKA!”_

Skywalker’s scream ripped through the air with physical force. Rex swayed from the shockwave, but he barely registered it as he braced himself for the awful, bottomless _pit_ of Ahsoka’s death -

“Incoming!”

Coric’s warning shout snapped Rex back to reality - Ahsoka wasn’t dead, _she wasn’t_ \- as the vulture droid descended upon them.

Skywalker’s lightsaber activated with a _snap-hiss._ Rex raised his blaster, firing on the towering droid fighter.

He had not missed these things.

Skywalker deflected the vulture droid’s shots with his lightsaber; Coric, Attie, and Nax opened fire. But the vulture droid’s armor was too tough - they’d never take it down with blasterfire, and with Skywalker busy covering them…

Ahsoka’s lightsaber was still on his hip.

Rex dodged to the side, launching himself into the air and activating his jetpack boots. The vulture was still occupied with Skywalker; it didn’t notice him until he landed on its head, igniting the green blade of Ahsoka’s lightsaber with a _snap-hiss_.

He’d picked up a lightsaber before. An Inquisitor’s, one of those spinning saberstaffs they used. It had been unwieldy in its weightlessness, the blade itself seeming to fight against his hand as he fought. Ahsoka’s was entirely different. As Rex plunged the blade into the vulture droid’s head, he could feel the weapon humming in his hands - it worked _with_ him, bringing the vulture droid crashing down.

Rex leaped clear of the scrap pile, stumbling a little on the landing in an effort to not accidentally run himself through.

“Not bad,” Skywalker said evenly, giving his lightsaber a quick twirl before deactivating it. _The moulinet,_ Ahsoka had told him when he’d asked, _the ultimate expression of trust between a Jedi and their lightsaber._

_Also good for adjusting your grip._

“Any wounded?” he called towards the troopers, deactivating the lightsaber and replacing it on his belt. “Where are the rest of your team?”

“No injured, sir,” Coric answered immediately, straightening up awkwardly - poor _chakaar_ had been elected to carry the huttlet. “Del, Zeer, and Ridge stayed behind to watch the Seppie freighter. The -” He swallowed. “The Commander thought it might be Ventress’s ship. Had Zeer stripping it for intel.”

Ah. The _Twilight._ Awful old rustbucket, really. “Don’t count the Commander out just yet,” Rex told him. “She’s pretty hard to kill.”

“We’re going down there.”

Rex turned to Skywalker. “General -” It wasn’t that Rex didn’t _want_ to go find Ahsoka, to help her, to make _sure_ she was all right, but he knew from experience that going looking for Ahsoka was a surefire way to attract more trouble. Fann’s tanks were still on the ground, and with the courtyard cleared the ascension teams could join them. They had to _trust her_ to take care of herself.

“We’re _going down there,”_ Skywalker repeated, clenching his fists.

Rex bit the inside of his cheek to keep from snapping that _you are the last person she wants to see._ “All due respect, General,” he began evenly, “but Commander Tano is more than capable of holding her own against the likes of Ventress. She will be _fine._ We just have to trust in her.”

“I am _not_ leaving my Padawan down there with the likes of Ventress!” Skywalker barked.

“Then _you_ are going to be the one who gets her killed!” Rex snarled back. “You have no idea what she’s survived, sir! _I do!_ She _will_ rendezvous with the tanks and she _will_ meet us back on the _Resolute._ All we need to do is make sure that we’re there to meet her.”

Skywalker stared at him, jaw clenched. Belatedly, Rex just realized he’d shouted at his superior officer.

Then he remembered that it was Skywalker _(Vader)_ , and suddenly he stopped caring.

“Coric,” Skywalker said finally, voice like iron. “You three get back to the others. Get the huttlet to the _Resolute._ Rex -” He fixed Rex with his best _don’t-kriff-with-me_ stare. “You come with me.”

Rex gritted his teeth. “Yes, _sir.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit goes to [this](https://levitatingbiscuits.tumblr.com/post/614096026422378496/hi-sorry-i-just-need-to-rant-about-lightsabers-for) tumblr post for the bit about the moulinet.
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _chakaar_ \- bastard


	12. Captured

Ahsoka fell.

The wind rushed past her face, catching the ends of her lekku; she closed her eyes and basked in the sensation as she reached out with the Force. Whirls and eddies caught in spectral fingers, sending her soaring away to the right. She called on the wind to take her  _ down, faster, _ to beat Ventress to the ground, and the wind obliged.

Then the ground came rushing towards her and she had to throw the winds  _ up _ .

Instead of smashing her face into the ground (embarrassing way to die, really), Ahsoka landed on her toes in perfect silence and disappeared into the fog.

Behind her, the ground  _ crack _ ed as Ventress slammed into the hard-packed earth with a shout of fury.

_ “JEDI!” _

* * *

_ Chat opened - The Marshal Quartet _

_ Welcome, CC-2224 “Codesman” _

_ Other Participants - CC-1138 "Bacara", CC-1026 "thank u Nex", CC-2777 "Burden" [offline] _

_ Bacara -  _ @Codesman

_ Bacara  _ \- unless you’re in a firefight you have Thirty Seconds to explain why I’m hearing about slave chips from the Guard instead of you

_ Bacara _ \- because APPARENTLY, you and your circle are the source of this information

_ Bacara _ \- the information you neglected to share with your fellow marshal commanders

_ Bacara _ \- you know. That information.

_ Codesman _ \- Sorry I Have Been Slightly Stressed

_ Codesman _ \- you know, between the hutts, rex going off the rails, dealing with a new jedi, and oh yeah REX GOING OFF THE RAILS

_ Codesman _ \- and Fox too!!! That was a fun time. I love stress.

_ Bacara _ \- Cody.

_ Bacara _ \- I don’t care if you’re Sol’alor.

_ Bacara _ \- Osik like this??? You kriffing tell us.

_ Codesman _ \- you know now, dont you?

_ Codesman _ \- I told my circle first

_ Codesman _ \- then Stone found out from Fox

_ Codesman _ \- and he said hed take care of spreading it to the rest of you

_ Codesman _ \- So forgive me if I decided to focus on the osik in front of me

_ thank u Nex _ \- woah woah woah hold up

_ thank u Nex _ \- slave chips??? What the KRIFF

_ Codesman _ \- ah. I guess Thire hasn’t told you yet

_ thank u Nex _ \- leave my batch brother out of this, Cody

_ thank u Nex _ \- What’s Happening?

_ Codesman _ \- Ill explain… 

* * *

Rex didn’t even bother sighing as Skywalker picked him up and tossed him off the ledge with the Force.

“I have jet-boots, sir,” Rex said mildly. “You didn’t need to do that.”

“It’s faster.”

_ Now _ Rex sighed. “Sir,” he said tiredly, because even Skywalker-as-Skywalker had been -  _ stubborn. _ He had never mastered the art of trusting others to take care of themselves. “I -”

“I don’t understand how you can’t be worried for her,” Skywalker burst out. “I thought you two were - what, friends?”

_ “Vode,” _ Rex corrected, a little coolly. He followed Skywalker through the foggy jungle, following whatever the Jedi’s Force-senses were telling him. “I  _ am _ worried about her, sir. But I trust her to take care of herself.”

“She’s a  _ youngling!” _ Skywalker said hotly, startling a noise out of their surroundings

“Padawan, sir.” Rex glanced into the fog, only to see something small and furry dart through the undergrowth. “I also trust her to call for help if she needs it.”

Skywalker frowned at him, mouth opening to retort.

The telltale  _ zwoom _ of lightsabers was all the warning either of them got before Ventress descended upon them.

Rex threw himself sideways as the  _ snap-hiss _ of Skywalker’s lightsaber filled the air, followed by the sound of crashing lightsabers. He came up on one knee, pistols drawn - Skywalker’s single blade was locked with Ventress’s dual ones, leaving Ventress’s exposed flank conveniently facing Rex.

He flicked the settings on his pistol and  _ fired. _

The blue circle of a stun blast exploded against Ventress’s lightsaber and soared beneath her as she flipped high above their heads. Skywalker rushed her, tangling her lightsabers in her own. Rex fired again, circling around the darksider with light steps. Two more stun blasts were ripped apart by Ventress, but the third caught her low in the abdomen and brought her to her knees.

“Surren -” Skywalker started, but Rex fired twice more and Ventress fell in a limp, insensate pile of pale skin and dark robes.

“- der. Or that,” Skywalker muttered. He raised an eyebrow in Rex’s direction, previous animosity apparently forgotten. “Stunners, Rex?”

Rex shrugged, holstering his pistols. “I got tired of getting shot with my own blaster bolts.”

Something  _ plinked _ at the edge of his mind. Rex dropped his shields - they weren’t Jedi-quality, far from it, but he’d picked up a few tricks from Ahsoka (and later Kanan) while they’d worked together. He hadn’t put them up before landing on Teth; Ahsoka had told him it required a clear, calm mind and Rex - hadn’t had one.

There had been a lot to process. There was  _ still _ a lot, he was just ignoring most of it.

Ahsoka’s presence pressed against his mind, skimming gently over his thoughts. Concern hummed against his scalp. He reached back clumsily, offering his best impression of the scene before him - Ventress captured, no injuries, Skywalker placated.

* * *

_ Chat opened - The Marshal Quartet _

_ Welcome, CC-2224 “Codesman” _

_ Other Participants - CC-1138 "Bacara", CC-1026 "thank u Nex", CC-2777 "Burden" _

_ Burden -  _ who the kriff changed my name

_ Bacara  _ \- Nex

_ thank u Nex _ \- snitch

[CC-2777 has changed their nickname from “Burden” to “Burner”]

_ Burner _ \- Im coming for your sunius Nex

_ Codesman _ \- sunius

_ thank u Nex _ \- sunius

_ Bacara _ \- sunius

_ Burner _ \- SINUSES

_ thank u Nex _ \- :)

_ thank u Nex _ \- quaking in my boots

_ Burner _ \- anyway guess what hellfire tastes like

_ Bacara -  _ Did you read up?

_ Burner _ \- yes and Im Refusing to deal w it until we come out of hyperspace

_ Burner _ \- so guess what hellfire tastes like

_ Codesman _ \- Gree’s cooking?

_ thank u Nex _ \- wow Cody is just coming for EVERYONES batchmates today

_ Codesman _ \- only bc its true!

_ Bacara _ \- So what does hellfire taste like, Burner?

_ Burner _ \- thank you for asking Bacara

_ Burner _ \- so today i found out that capsacin makes your mouth sensitive to heat and menthol makes it sensetive to Cold

_ thank u Nex _ \- oh no

_ Burner _ \- so I ate a ryl pepper and a handful of the generals mints

_ Codesman _ \- o h n o

_ Burner _ \- I Am In Pain

_ Codesman _ \- oh gods. You di’kut. Burner I cant be laughing my general is talking to a Hutttttt

_ thank u Nex _ \- fun fact! The cold nerves and the heat nerves are Different Nerves

_ thank u Nex _ \- and as Burner is currently finding out, can be activated separately

* * *

Coric nearly tripped over his own feet with relief as he, Attie, and Nax set foot on the  _ Twilight _ ’s platform.

Del was there immediately, steadying him as he checked over the others. “Everyone okay?” he asked, taking a  _ generous _ step away from Coric when the huttlet decided to start crying again. “Ugh. And I thought his dad was ugly.” He peered into the fog. “Where’s the Commander?”

Attie winced. Coric shook his head. “Went over the edge,” he said, gesturing helplessly to the ground, far,  _ far _ below. “While she was fighting Ventress -”

“Hi, guys!”

Coric gaped as Commander Tano clambered over the ledge, looking slightly bruised and dirty but otherwise no worse for wear. She brushed off her leggings, dusted her montrals, and straightened up, grinning widely. Her grin faded as she looked around. “Where’s Rex and General Skywalker?” she asked, frowning at all of them. “I thought they’d be with you guys.”

Del was looking between Coric and the Commander like he wasn’t sure who was real. “Are you,” he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Are you injured, Commander?”

“I’m fine,” she said absently, crouching at the edge of the platform and peering into the fog. Her brow furrowed.

“Commander?” Coric prompted. “Is everything -”

He fell silent as Commander Tano held up a hand, still scanning the jungle below. Her face brightened after a moment; she straightened, rolling her shoulders and stepping back from the edge.

“Rex is fine,” she informed them cheerfully. “So is General Skywalker. Ventress has been - urgh, what’s the word? _Mircir?_ _Esuspar._ Captured.”

_ “Mircyc,” _ Del offered.

_ “Mircyc!” _ Commander Tano cried triumphantly. “That’s it. Rex has been trying to teach me Mando’a conjugations for - never mind. It’s not my strong suit.”

_ “Esuspar?” _ Nax asked.

“Togruti for ‘captured’,” Commander Tano told him. “More lessons once we’re back on the  _ Resolute, _ I promise. How’s the  _ Twilight, _ Zeer?”

“Uh -”

* * *

Rex was all too happy to let Skywalker take the groggy, still-homicidal Ventress down to the brig. The less time he spent around that bald maniac, the better, as far as he was concerned.

“Do you  _ really _ think Jabba will just  _ hand over _ the trade lines to you?” she hissed, pale eyes fixed malevolently on Rex’s helmet. “Your  _ brothers _ will  _ die, _ just like everyone the Jedi profess to  _ help -” _

“Get moving,” Skywalker snapped, shoving her forward. “We’ve got a nice little cell already lined up for you.”

_ “Flen!” _

Rex grinned as a little red-clad figure darted out of the sea of white armor and ran towards them.  _ “Su’cuy!” _ he called back as Ahsoka approached, beaming.  _ “Orprekwokhos flegin?” _

_ “Kun-kun!” _ Ahsoka chirped.  _ “Me’vaar ti du?” _

Coric, in the middle of handing the Huttlet off to another medic, made a baffled noise. Rex bit back a chuckle. He’d gotten so used to the mishmash of Togruti and Mando’a (with a few Huttese curses thrown in for flavor) that he and Ahsoka used to communicate. It hadn’t exactly been intentional - it had just  _ happened, _ thrown together out of necessity as they fumbled towards fluency, desperately clinging to something that was  _ theirs _ . For Rex, Mando’a was the language of his brothers, his  _ vode. _ For Ahsoka, Togruti was the language of a people that had taken her in and sheltered her from the Empire - and died for it.

“How’s the Huttlet?” Rex said in Basic, taking pity on the surrounding troopers.

“A little sick,” Ahsoka admitted. “But nothing our boys can’t fix up, even if he is a Hutt.”

“Thanks, Commander,” Coric said dryly. “Your confidence astounds.”

“Your flying doesn’t,” Attie mumbled, looking slightly green.

Rex, who was a professional, did not smirk. “Ah. Did she do the spinning?” he asked, ignoring Ahsoka’s indignant squawk.

Attie nodded emphatically.

“Oh, like  _ you _ can talk about  _ my _ piloting!” Ahsoka yelped, scowling at him with her hands on her hips.

Sensing that Ahsoka was about to break into the embarrassing anecdotes if the subject didn’t change immediately, Rex waved Del over. “Report, trooper,” he said, seeing Ahsoka drag Nax, Attie, Zeer, and Ridge away into the crowd. “How’s your squad?”

Del dutifully described the events of the mission, supplemented by Coric after the squad split up. He hid a smile at the bafflement in the trooper’s voices as they described Ahsoka. “You get used to it,” he told them dryly.

Coric made a vague, baffled hand gesture. “I  _ guess?” _

* * *

Ahsoka enjoyed the company of her men - her boys, they really were just  _ boys. _ It was so strange to be back here, staring up at the smooth faces of young men she’d watched die for  _ years. _

But they weren’t dead  _ now. _

Zeer and Nax were both cheerful, excitable - even more so than she remembered. But then again, there was one less massacre in their past, now. Everyone had made it off Teth before the Separatist fleet had arrived. It was a true victory, instead of a pyrrhic one.

“Where’d you learn Togruti, Commander?” Nax asked eagerly as he perched across from her, a third of the way through cleaning his blaster. “I didn’t think it was a Jedi language.”

Ahsoka grinned easily, looking up from her disassembled shoto. “The Jedi don’t have a language,” she explained, “but the Order considers it important for Jedi to remain connected to our cultural roots. I spent some time on Shili a long time ago. I earned these,” she gestured to her akul-tooth headdress, “and I learned some Togruti. I’m not fluent, exactly, but I get by.”

“Did the Captain go with you?” Zeer asked, wrist-deep into a tangle of wires and circuitry.  _ “Ow, _ Attie, what the kriff -”

_ “Di’kut, _ she said it was a while ago! The Captain wouldn’t have even been off Kamino yet -”

“What’s going on in here?”

“Sarge!” Nax, Zeer, and Ridge immediately shot to their feet, followed a moment later by Attie. “Sorry, sir,” Zeer said sheepishly, “we were just about to report back to you -”

A scar-faced trooper loomed in the doorway, eyes sweeping across the room. “Commander,” he greeted politely. “Didn’t realize you were keeping my boys.”

Ahsoka hastily reassembled her lightsaber. “Didn’t mean to,” she said sheepishly, getting to her feet. “Sorry about that, Sergeant…?”

“Catch,” Sergeant Catch answered. “I don’t mind, Commander, but I’d  _ appreciate it,” _ he said dryly, “if my boys would let me know that they made it back from the mission first.”

Ridge looked like he wanted to melt through the floor. “Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!”

Catch nodded, then glanced at Attie. “Your sergeant make it back all right, kid?”

“Yessir,” Attie said. “Him and Coric are debriefing with the Captain now. Already commed the rest of the squad.”

Catch muttered something under his breath -  _ haa'taylir meh ni vaabir mayen par garoa, Shanks _ \- and shook his head. “Come join us, then. You too, Commander,” he added, nodding to Ahsoka. “Since the boys seem to like you.”

Ahsoka beamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Burner is an idiot. Yes, he is also in charge of a quarter of the GAR. It’s a delicate balance.
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
> Di’kut - idiot  
> Su’cuy - Hi!  
> Me’vaar ti (gar)? - How are (you)? (lit. what’s new with you?)  
> Mircir - capture  
> Mircyc - captured  
> haa'taylir meh ni vaabir mayen par garoa, Shanks - See if I do anything for you, Shanks.
> 
> Togruti Translations  
> Flen - Hi!  
> Orprekwokhos flegin? - All good? (lit. “completely healthy?”)  
> Kun - yes! (In Togruti, repeating a word increases the emphasis or strength - instead of ‘very red’, say ‘red-red’ or ‘red-red-red’)  
> Du - you all (singular you is very rare)  
> Esuspar - captured


	13. A Pair of Convorees

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CT-7567 “Rex”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Cody”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-1007 “Blackout”, CC-1010 “Fox”_

_Rex_ \- hey

 _Cody_ \- hello newly-off-probation vod’ika

 _Mr. Secura_ \- o worm?

 _Rex_ \- yeah general kenobi decided ahsoka n i can stay with the 501st

 _Wolffe_ \- Wild

 _Blackout_ \- ur just mad u dont get to steal rex’ika for urself

 _Rex_ \- more like hes disappointed general plo isnt gonna adopt another kid

 _Wolffe_ \- I Know But Hey

 _Fox_ \- Glad to hear the man who knows all about the chips isn’t going to get decommissioned.

 _Fox_ \- Even if you are planning to punch me.

 _Rex_ \- yes! I am

 _Rex_ \- also who said?? decommissioning???

 _Cody_ \- y

 _Cody_ \- you did??

 _Cody_ \- you said kenobi was going to have you transferred??

 _Rex_ \- I

 _Rex_ \- CANNOT believe i forgot how paranoid u all are

 _Rex_ \- okay when jedi say transferred they mean like a normal transfer

 _Rex_ \- not a Kamino Transfer

 _Fox_ \- ...are you sure??

 _Rex_ \- yes???

* * *

Coric couldn’t sleep that night.

He slipped out of his bunk, glancing over Del, Attie, Shank, Jemme, Vaize, Ayar, Lunn, and ‘25 - all sleeping soundly - before padding silently out of the barracks.

The Huttlet had been easily treated and returned to his father on Tatooine. The Republic had secured supply lines through Hutt Space, bolstering their operations in the Outer Rim - at least, so Commander Tano had explained. Everything had gone according to plan.

So why couldn’t he shake the feeling that they’d just walked away from the edge?

Maybe it was the snatches of hushed conversation he’d overheard between Commander Tano and the Captain. _We saved so many of them - we could have saved_ more - _this isn’t Mandalore, they still had a choice._ Maybe it was the way Commander Tano had seemed to know every move the Seppies made before they made it. Maybe it was the sudden, sharp change in the Captain. Maybe it was the whispered rumors that had spread around the _Resolute_ as they waited above Tatooine.

_Remember, the Captain was recalled to Kamino after Geonosis? Does anyone know what happened there? Does anyone know him from Kamino?_

_Dar’kyrayc,_ someone had muttered, before quickly being hushed by the others.

Maybe it was all of those things combined. Whatever the reason, it made shivers run up his spine.

The faint _thud-thud-thud_ of sparring reached through the halls. Coric blinked; he hadn’t realized he’d wandered so far in his thoughts.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep. He moved towards the sparring ring, wondering idly which of the _vode_ he’d find here - probably some of Torrent, but he’d learned not to discount Wave Company’s appetite for chaos.

 _Thud, thud. Thud. Thud-thud-thud._ Whoever was in the sparring room was _really_ going at it.

The doors slid open.

Commander Tano stood barefoot on the sparring mat. Across from her, Captain Rex had stripped down to his blacks. They circled each other like a pair of nexu; heavy drums pounded out of the tinny speakers on the datapad that was discarded on the ground at the edge of the ring.

_“Plis!”_

Tano struck first: a lightning-fast jab directly at Rex’s chest. Rex slapped the blow away, aiming a blow with his knee that Tano blocked with her own. The _thud_ of contact coincided with a crash of drums and a _howl_ that made Coric shiver even through the distortion of the cheap datapad speaker.

_“Mi-li!”_

From the shadows of the training room, Denal - who Coric hadn’t realized was there until now - crooked a finger, beckoning him over. Coric cast a quick glance at Rex and Tano, but the pair of them were circling each other again. Tano was half-crouched, eyes glinting in the low light; Rex was barely moving, turning on his heel as he tracked her movement.

“They’ve been at it for almost an hour now,” Denal murmured when Coric reached him, voice pitched under the music. “It’s been - well, it’s been _something_ to watch.”

_“Piflel-du! Dr̀ul-mi!”_

"What are they doing?" Coric asked, fascinated.

Denal glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "You can't tell?"

Coric spared the other man an irritated glance as he slid down the wall to sit next to him. "I wouldn't have _asked_ if I -"

Denal raised his hands in surrender and chuckled. Coric noticed he was _also_ holding a datapad. It was a night for datapads, apparently.

The levity faded as Rex caught Commander Tano by the ankle and flung her across the sparring ring. Coric tensed, ready to jump up and administer aid, but Denal put a hand on his arm as the Commander turned the throw into a backflip and landed on her feet.

_“Ma obechem-pa!”_

"Like a tooka, that one," Denal murmured. "Always lands on her feet."

 _You get used to it,_ Rex had said. Coric just nodded.

He wasn't used to it yet.

"So," he asked, realizing Denal had never answered his question. "What _are_ they doing?"

Denal glanced at him. "Dancing." He gestured towards the sparring pair as Commander Tano darted under Rex's guard, slamming her elbow into his ribs as she flew past him. Rex spun with the impact, landing only a glancing blow before they started circling each other again. "See that? She only strikes _after_ he lets his guard down. He's doing it deliberately."

_“Aminkir̀, aminkir̀, aminkir̀ tr̀amplas -”_

Coric squinted as the next blows were exchanged. He could sort of see what Denal was talking about - each blow was preceded by a subtle shift in Rex's stance. "What about his blows?"

"He's telegraphing them. Keep watching."

_“Aminkir̀ iniplas, akul gandr̀a.”_

Coric had to concede that Denal was right - not that it was a surprise, exactly. Denal was the undisputed champion of hand-to-hand in Wave Company, and one of the best close-combat fighters in the entire legion. There was a pair of twins in Tide Company that could beat him, as far as Coric knew, as well as a handful of lieutenants - and of course, the Captain himself.

_“Aminkir̀, aminkir̀, aminkir̀ tr̀amplas -”_

_“Mal musgr̀il mal plasar̀ iniplas!”_

More so now than ever. Even if it was a dance, Coric couldn't remember seeing any _vod_ move so _fast._ He almost expected it from Commander Tano - small, Togruta, _Jedi_ \- but Rex moved with the same grace and speed that she did. It was impressive, and more than a little unsettling.

 _Where were you,_ Coric asked silently, _that you needed to learn like that?_

Two months had taught him a lot about how soldiers learned in wartime. Surviving an engagement meant learning lessons from it - anything from how to sense an incoming artillery round to how to move without being picked up by motion sensors.

If Coric were the gossiping type, he might think that the sudden departure of the spec-ops Commander - the only clone Coric knew who wore jaig eyes (aside from Rex) - had something to do with it.

But he wasn't. So he minded his own business and settled in to watch.

_“Tr̀a-bi! Tr̀a-bi!”_

It was an impressive display of harmony. The pair moved in perfect sync, each blow connecting right where it was supposed to; now that Denal had pointed out what was going on, Coric could properly appreciate the level of trust that a dance like this would require.

_“Tr̀abi! Tr̀adr̀i!”_

He looked down at a nudge from Denal and found a datapad pushed into his hands. "Every so often, they'll change dances," he said, tapping the dim screen.

_Malachor_

_Yarma_

_Agamar_

_Starlag XIX_

_Geonosis_

_Atollon_

_Lothal_

_Scarif_

_Yavin 4_

_Vrogas Vas_

_Sunspot Prison_

_Harbinger_

_Hoth_

"Rex calls out a new name and things just - _shift._ Like a new page in a briefing," Denal explained. "They're on Hoth, now, but Commander Tano started with Malachor."

"...huh," Coric said slowly. "So - what, are they battles?"

"That's my guess," Denal agreed, glancing up as Rex went stumbling back. "Lot of battles."

_“Dr̀ukir̀est itr̀asti!”_

"...Rex was only gone for four weeks," Coric said slowly, looking up. "After Geonosis. Remember? He got called back for officer training?"

"You thought he'd been decommissioned," Denal recalled dryly, ignoring the way Coric bristled (it had been a _valid assumption at the time)._ "You think that's where these two know each other? from?"

Coric shrugged, aiming for nonchalance. "Wouldn't surprise me."

Denal hummed. "So this is... what? Catching up? Or reliving old battles? You'd think Commander Tano would be leading more of them if that were the case. Being a Jedi and all."

_“Aminkir̀, aminkir̀, aminkir̀ tr̀amplas -”_

Coric shrugged again. "Maybe that's not it," he offered. "Maybe they're just - stories, from someone. Didn't Vaize say she had a General before Skywalker?"

_“Mal musgr̀il mal plasar̀ iniplas!”_

The music stopped.

“If you two are done gossiping like a pair of convorees,” Rex said, voice perfectly steady, “it’s well into your sleep schedule.”

Coric gulped. Commander Tano was crouching on the edge of the ring, her eyes glinting in the low light. When he accidentally made eye contact with her, she grinned, revealing a pair of sharp fangs.

“Sure thing, Captain,” Denal said easily, getting to his feet and hauling Coric up behind him. “Off the record, sirs, you might want to get some rest too. I heard we’re getting new orders soon.”

 _What?_ “What does that mean?” Coric hissed as soon as they were out of the room. “Since when?”

Denal leaned close. “Overheard the Admiral arguing with General Skywalker about it,” he muttered. “Apparently, the Jedi are being sent to investigate some kind of distress signal. Sounds like the Captain’s getting dragged into it too.”

_What the hells?_

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CT-7567 “Rex”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Cody”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”[offline], CC-3636 “Wolffe” [offline], CC-1007 “Blackout”, CC-1010 “Fox”[offline]_

_Rex_ \- Cody what does ‘new orders’ mean

 _Rex_ \- cody

 _Rex_ \- cody cody cody cody cody cody cody

 _Rex_ \- c o d y

 _Cody_ \- Its 0100 go to SLEEP

 _Rex_ \- explain!!

 _Rex_ \- this is very ominous phrasing I Hate It

 _Cody_ \- fine okay

 _Cody_ \- the Jedi got a distress call and theyre sending Kenobi Skywalker Tano and you to go check it out

 _Cody_ \- not sure why they feel the need to send Three Jedi and Also You but there ya go

 _Cody_ \- Rex?

 _Cody_ \- hey you okay?

 _Rex_ \- yeah sorry baby jedi had a panic attack

 _Cody_ \- ???

 _Rex_ \- its fine, we got this

 _Rex_ \- i have osik to do

 _Rex_ \- on the off chance that this all goes sideways find Coric hell have what u need

 _Cody_ \- hey Rex what the kriff

 _Rex_ \- it will PROBABLY be fine im just takin precautions

 _Cody_ \- ...dont get yourself killed, vod’ika

 _Rex_ \- im older than you

 _Cody_ \- force what are you, the baby jedi?

 _Rex_ \- ur hilarious

 _Rex_ \- night, ori’vod

[CT-7567 has logged off]

[CC-2224 has logged off]

 _Blackout_ \- dammit i just missed yall

 _Blackout_ \- oh well

 _Blackout_ \- since nobody is here to talk me out of it im gonna do something really kriffing stupid

 _Blackout_ \- if i am not back online in three days assume im dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this inspired by the Dha Werda Verda? Possibly. (Actually, only a little bit - I had the idea of Rex and Ahsoka doing sparring as therapy for a while, but I’m a sucker for music so I added it in and this happened.)
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _dar’kyrayc_ \- literally translated, it means ‘no longer dead’; in the GAR, however, there’s a cultural context that gets lots in translation. The _dar’kyrayc_ are the boogeymen of the _vode_ , brothers who died and came back different - fell and terrible and strange. Whispered myth says they are perfect fighters, unable to be killed in battle, and possess strange powers.  
>  _vode_ \- siblings  
>  _osik_ \- shit
> 
> Togruti Translations  
>  _Mili_ \- blood  
>  _Plis_ \- strike  
>  _Pifleldu dr̀ulmi_ \- old anger  
>  _Ma obechempa_ \- dangerous one  
>  _Aminkir̀_ \- hunt  
>  _Tr̀amplas_ \- wild  
>  _Iniplas_ \- victorious  
>  _Akul_ \- an apex predator native to Shili; hunting one of these is a rite of passage for the native Togruta  
>  _Gandr̀a_ \- eight thousand  
>  _Mal musgr̀il mal plasar̀ iniplas_ \- we share our victorious meat  
>  _Tr̀abi_ \- fight  
>  _Tr̀abi tr̀adr̀i_ \- fight for  
>  _dr̀ukir̀est itr̀asti_ \- the dead huntkin


	14. Taking Precautions

Coric was very popular in the mess hall that morning.

“But what were they _doing?”_ Vaize pressed, pushing a forkful of egg-flavored paste towards Coric like it was a bribe.

“I dunno _,”_ Coric grumbled, pushing it back. “Sparring, I guess. Denal called it ‘dancing’.”

Shank perked up. “Denal was there?”

Lunn jabbed their elbow into Shank’s side. “He already _told_ you that, _di’kut.”_

“Yeah, but -”

Attie rolled his eyes, kicking both of them under the table. “Both of you, shut up. What d’you mean dancing, Cor?”

“I dunno,” Coric repeated, jabbing his fork at Lunn’s thieving fingers. “It was like - he was showing her where to hit by dropping his guard. They weren’t trying to _beat_ each other.”

Vaize made a face. “That doesn’t make any se-”

“Coric.”

Vaize paled.

Coric felt his throat go dry as he turned around.

Captain Rex loomed over the squad, fully armored and helmet on. “Come with me,” he said, gesturing sharply.

“Yessir,” Coric said quickly, shoving his nearly-empty tray at Lunn and shooting to his feet. He nearly tripped over the table, shooting his _vode_ a glower at their mutters of ‘good luck’ and ‘rest in peace, vod’. They were _not helping._

Rex led him down a quiet hall until they reached a deserted stretch. He stopped outside a storage closet and motioned for Coric to follow him inside. Bewildered, Coric did. “Sir -?”

“Take this.” Rex pressed a datapad into his hands. “Read everything on it. Memorize it, if you can.” He gripped Coric’s wrist with sudden intensity. “Do _not_ let the Jedi know what’s on it - not unless you have to. If things go sideways, make sure that data gets to Commander Cody. Do everything he tells you. _Tayli'bac?”_

“Yes, sir!” Coric said immediately, saluting before he looked down, stomach twisting. What could be so important -?

The bottom dropped out of his stomach. _Slave chips. Mind control. Orders - self-termination, hunting the Jedi, hunting_ brothers _-_

_Removal procedure - surgical procedure, details unknown. Short recovery._

“Sir -” he started shakily, looking up - surely there was an explanation.

But he was alone. Rex had already left.

* * *

_Welcome, CC-2224 “Cody”_

_Other Participants - CT-7567 “Rex” [offline], CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe” , CC-1007 “Blackout” [offline], CC-1010 “Fox”_

_Cody_ \- Hey Blackout??? What the kriff?

 _Fox_ \- I would like it noted that it Is Not Worth getting stunned by one of your fellow commanders

 _Fox_ \- I still can’t feel my fingers

 _Wolffe_ \- sucks to suck

 _Fox_ \- See if I bail your favorites out of jail next time you’re on shore leave.

 _Wolffe_ \- lmao Please theyll just break out

 _Cody_ \- @Blackout answer shabuir

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Hes not online

 _Cody_ \- Hed better GET online

 _Fox_ \- Well if you have a crisis, wait until I get off duty.

 _Mr. Secura_ \- OH yeah are u gonna be okay?

 _Mr. Secura_ \- I mean

 _Fox_ \- I get it.

 _Fox_ \- I’ll be fine.

 _Fox_ \- Made some new SOPs for senate assignments

 _Cody_ \- Call for help if u need it

 _Fox_ \- No promises.

* * *

“Sir,” Denal said, for the fifth time that hour, “I’m obligated to inform you that I don’t like this.”

“Your concern is noted,” Rex replied, barely managing not to snap. _“Again.”_

“Also, I have to object to being put in charge of the five-oh-first,” Denal added, one corner of his mouth twitching. “Being a lowly lieutenant and all, sir -”

Rex paused in his kit assembly to fix Denal with his third-best stare. “Think of it this way,” he said. “You’re not in charge of _a legion._ You’re in charge of _two hundred and fifty-six platoons in a Jedi robe.”_

Denal swallowed visibly. “That’s… not reassuring, sir.”

“Wasn’t meant to be.” Rex turned back to his kit. “You’ll do fine. The five-oh-first is a good outfit. Just make sure you keep the lieutenant grades sorted, don’t worry about mixing units, and don’t be afraid to reach out to the Jedi. You’re set under Cody’s command - here’s his comm frequency -” he shoved a datapad into Denal’s hands, “- and the legion’s personnel files, sorted by unit. There’s a few other things in here too that you might find useful.”

He let Denal sort through the mess - it was as much as Rex had dared to include without giving away everything; comm frequencies for Cody’s _burc’ye_ \- excluding Fox and Blackout and including Ponds.

Kriff, but he was going to miss his old rifle on this mission, if Ahsoka was right. A two-thousand-year-old Jedi distress code from the Chrelythiumn system… it was hard to imagine it could be anything else.

“Oh.” Rex grabbed Denal’s vambrace, making the other man squeak. “And the most important thing. _Listen_ to your medics. Coric especially,” he added.

Denal went still. His brown eyes searched Rex’s face for - _something,_ Rex wasn’t sure what.

Rex froze when Denal lurched forward, pulling him into a tight hug.

“You’re talking like you don’t think you’re coming home,” Denal said quietly into Rex’s shoulder. “You _are_ coming home, okay? You don’t get to leave me in charge of these _di’kute.”_

Slowly, Rex brought his arm up to return the hug. “No promises,” he murmured, pulling back after a brief moment. “You’ll be okay, _vod’ika,”_ he said firmly. “I’ll haunt you if you’re not.”

Denal shuddered. “Please don’t.”

They shared a quiet laugh as Rex finished packing the last of his kit.

“You’ve changed,” Denal said quietly. “A _lot._ This,” he waved a hand in the air between then, “this isn’t like you. The Rex I met on Geonosis wouldn’t be setting up a line of succession before he went on a mission.”

“It’s called the _chain of command,”_ Rex grumbled. Then he sobered, old memories of the very first battle surfacing in his mind. “And Geonosis… was a long time ago.”

“Seven weeks,” Denal disagreed. “Not that long.”

 _Kriff._ Rex rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Be careful,” he said. “Keep the _vode_ out of trouble. And if I don’t come back -”

“You will,” Denal insisted.

 _“If I don’t come back,”_ Rex repeated insistently, “contact Cody. Tell him everything you can and listen to what he tells you.”

 _“Rex.”_ Denal grabbed him by the shoulders. “Enough. Stop talking like you’re marching to your kriffing _death._ You’re getting shipped out with _three Jedi,_ all right? You’re gonna be fine.”

 _Hopefully._ “Just taking precautions,” Rex replied, not shrugging off Denal’s grip. “I… thought I’d have more time to sort things out,” he murmured. “Before we were deployed again.”

“Don’t make me hug you again,” Denal threatened. He took a step back, swallowing visible. “Just be careful, sir. We’d hate to have to train up a new CO.”

Rex snorted.

He didn’t like leaving his men. He never did, but he _especially_ didn’t like leaving them now, so soon after he’d finally gotten them _back -_ and before he’d gotten the chance to set up contingency plans.

The odds of him and Commander Tano making it through this war had increased, but they were still far from certain. If he’d had more _time,_ he would have been able to get more information into more hands, to make sure the 501st wouldn’t fall into the same traps it had before.

(He knew, on an intellectual level, that Cody and his _burc’ye_ knew - but that wasn’t the same as having the knowledge stay within the Legion. He’d done what he could, getting the most important pieces to Coric, who could actually _do something_ if worst came to worst, passing on tactical plans and battle maps to Denal, but -)

(They were his men. He was always going to _worry._ He’d watched them all die; it was impossible not to be afraid for them when he knew what fates awaited them.)

* * *

“Denal? Denal, do you read me?”

Ahsoka’s nails had ripped through the fabric of her seat already. She didn’t care - she _couldn’t_ care, couldn’t think about anything except that _it was happening again._

Anakin’s fleet had been needed elsewhere, but after a quick detour they’d managed to reroute the _Resolute_ to rendezvous with their shuttle. And now they were at the rendezvous coordinates and _nobody was there._

 _“Sir,”_ Denal answered, sounding incredibly harassed, _“we are at the rendezvous point. There’s no sign of you on our scanners.”_

“Oh, come on,” Anakin protested. “That’s impossible.”

Rex laid a hand on Ahsoka’s shoulder, nearly making her jump out of her skin. “Udesii, vod’ika,” he murmured. “We’re okay.”

“Something’s wrong,” Anakin muttered to Master Kenobi. “We’re at the exact coordinates where the distress signal originated, but there’s nothing _here!_ Denal is at the exact _same_ coordinates, and _he’s_ not here.”

Master Kenobi hummed, apparently unconcerned. “This _is_ getting interesting.”

Ahsoka gasped as Denal’s hologram started to flicker. _“- an’t find you. -ere are you, si-”_

“Something’s jamming the signal,” Rex interjected smoothly, gently maneuvering Ahsoka into a different seat so he could access the console. “I can try -”

With a heart-stopping whine, the power died.

 _It’s starting,_ Ahsoka realized, sick with nameless dread. _It’s starting, it’s starting -_

“Not good,” Master Kenobi muttered, tapping futilely at the keyboard.

“Everything’s dead,” Rex reported, glancing back at Ahsoka. “Even the life support.”

Anakin grunted. “This is _really_ strange.”

“I’d call it a little more than _strange,_ sir -” Rex began sharply, but he was cut off by the hum of rebooting systems.

“There, you see?” Master Kenobi said cheerfully. “Nothing to worry about after all.”

Ahsoka pointed through the front window. “Something to worry about.”

Rex cursed as the shuttle lurched forward, stumbling before he managed to reach his seat and buckle himself in. “You okay, kid?”

Ahsoka pressed her lips together and didn’t answer. As before, the shuttle rattled as it was pulled forward into the massive red pyramid. She screwed her eyes shut against the white light that flooded the cabin.

 _This is happening,_ she told herself, willing her hands to stop shaking. _This is happening, this is happening, this is really happening -_

 _It’s going to be okay,_ she tried to tell herself, as she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. _It’s going to be okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELCOME TO MORTIS NOTHING IS OKAY.  
> I’m having a great time, thanks for reading! The words for this chapter just hurled themselves out of my brain, I guess. All of your lovely, lovely comments definitely helped!
> 
> (Also, yes, Lunn is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. I Have Decided.)
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _Di’kut_ \- idiot  
>  _Vode_ \- siblings  
>  _Vod_ \- sibling  
>  _Shabuir_ \- bastard, asshole  
>  _Burc’ye_ \- in GAR vernacular, the inner circle of a commanding officer, especially the Marshal Commanders; usually comprised mostly of batchmates. In traditional Mando’a, it means ‘friends’.  
>  _Di’kute_ \- idiots  
>  _Udesii_ \- calm down, take it easy  
>  _Vod’ika_ \- little sibling


	15. Kriff This Planet

Rex decided that he didn’t like this planet.

It was, in a word, kriffed. The shuttle had landed perfectly despite none of the systems kriffing working and all four of them being kriffing unconscious (Kix would have a fit - _Janlee_ would have a fit, oh Force, Janlee was still alive) and everything was kriffing garden-world green outside.

Also, there were floating rocks. Which was not _quite_ as weird as it should have been, considering the places Rex had been in service of the Rebellion, but it was still _pretty kriffing weird._

“Do you hear that?” Skywalker said suddenly, confusion written all over his face.

“No,” Rex and General Kenobi said at the same time that Ahsoka said, “Yes.”

Rex took a deep breath. _Kriff this planet._

_“Are you the One?”_

Rex whipped around. There was a - the word _woman_ didn’t seem to do her justice; green hair flowed down her back in waves, perfectly corralled by a golden headdress that looked like something Senator Amidala would wear. Her dress - robes - gown? - seemed to float as she moved, swirling around her feet as if caught in gentle eddies, and _wow_ that plunging neckline sure was a decision.

 _“Hel_ -lo,” General Kenobi greeted, because he was apparently incapable of not flirting with _everyone_ he came across.

“Who are _you?”_ Skywalker asked, slack-jawed.

The woman pressed her hands together. “I am Daughter.” Her voice echoed strangely around them as she stepped forward. “Are you the One?”

Rex, as a rule, was not attracted to women. But he _could_ (despite what certain people might think, _Fives)_ tell when one was beautiful and ‘Daughter’ definitely qualified. That didn’t mean he wasn’t _completely willing_ to smack both Jedi over the head until their brains started working again.

“Uh.” Skywalker glanced back at General Kenobi, one eyebrow raised. “The one _what?”_

“I will take you to him,” the Daughter decided.

 _Oh, no thank you._ “Ah, no.” Rex stepped forward. “That won’t be necessary.”

The Daughter’s gaze shifted to him. She blinked, as if seeing him for the first time. “You are not supposed to be here.”

Rex bristled immediately. Ahsoka stepped up to his elbow, raising her chin and drawing the Daughter’s attention. “He’s with me.”

“The Champion,” the Daughter murmured. Her gaze shifted back to Rex. “And her Shadow. I see.”

Ahsoka wrinkled her nose. “What?”

“Yeah,” Skywalker agreed, moving in front of them both. “What?”

Kenobi stepped up beside him. “Did you bring us here?” he asked, arms crossed over his chest.

“Only he can help you,” the Daughter replied, a frown crossing her face. “There is little time. Follow me. We must have shelter by nightfall.”

Rex growled, the frustrations of the past - four days? Five? - threatening to boil over. _Is it too much to ask for a coherent conversation?_ “Why should we trust you?” he demanded.

 _“Kon r̀in klin,”_ Ahsoka whispered, nudging his arm.

Rex looked down at her in surprise. This planet had tied Ahsoka in knots - and now this bizarre stranger met with her approval?

He blinked.

There was a convor perched between Ahsoka’s montrals. A very _familiar_ convor.

Ah.

Well, all right. This entire planet was just going to be one piece of Force nonsense after another, huh?

Skywalker threw up his hands. “Why not?” he muttered. “And we thought the _planet_ was strange. How about _this_ one?”

“We’ll be fine,” Kenobi said soothingly, placing a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “As long as we stay together. Ahsoka, what is that on your head?”

“Her name is Morai,” Ahsoka informed him solemnly. “She’s a friend. Also, the Daughter isn’t waiting for us, so if we’re going to follow her…"

* * *

Master Kenobi had questions again.

“Ahsoka,” he began, falling back to walk beside her. “Do you know what the Daughter meant, when she called you Champion?”

Ahsoka shook her head. “I have no idea,” she said truthfully. “I know it’s important, but… I don’t know _why._ I just got the feeling that she knew who I was.” (Ignoring the part where Ahsoka knew who _she_ was, but that wasn't the question, was it?)

“She seems more interested in Anakin,” Master Kenobi mused. “But the distress signal did ask for both of you by name. What I don’t understand is _why.”_

Ahsoka nearly tripped in shock. “Both of us?” she blurted. “But the Daughter said that Rex wasn’t supposed to be here.”

Master Kenobi shook his head. “I don’t understand it,” he confessed. “They knew your name, Captain, but not your rank. In fact, they referred to you as _Commander.”_

Something cold slid down Ahsoka’s spine. Rex had been a Commander in the Rebellion, for a time - and, of course, Commander of the 501st on Mandalore.

“This planet is very strange.” Master Kenobi glanced up as Anakin slowed down to join them, seemingly oblivious to the sudden stillness in Rex’s hands or the turmoil in Ahsoka’s stomach. “Have you noticed the seasons seem to change with the time of day?”

“No animals, either,” Rex contributed. “Well, with one notable exception.”

Ahsoka couldn’t help but grin as Morai cheeped reprovingly at Rex.

Anakin shook his head fondly. “I swear, you get weirder the longer you stick around.”

Ahsoka grimaced, dropping her gaze. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize, Snips,” Anakin said immediately. “Just an observation. Besides, you handled yourself pretty well on Teth.”

Master Kenobi coughed.

“Right,” Anakin said quickly. “Teachable moment. So, little one, what can you tell me about this planet?”

Ahsoka closed her eyes obediently, quickly hopping over a tree root to avoid tripping as she lowered her shields a bit. It was a tricky balance, to drop her own defenses without leaving Rex vulnerable. Judging by the quiet curse behind her, she wasn't entirely succeeding. “The Force is very strong here,” she said, grimacing a little as the cosmic power pressed down on her temples - not unlike a headache from caf withdrawal. “But there’s…” she trailed off, reaching outwards, taking special care not to brush up against the presence of the Ones - she’d made that mistake last time, and it had nearly knocked her out.

“It’s still,” she said at last, opening her eyes and blinking up at Anakin. “The planet's _still._ The Force is gathered here, but there’s nothing for it to flow between. It’s like - like a lake. No currents.”

"A Nexus," Master Kenobi contributed. "They are few and far between in the galaxy, but they are very powerful wherever they appear."

Anakin nodded. “Keep your shields up as much as you can," he told her. "This much power in one place will wreak havoc on your senses if you’re not careful. Oh - Rex,” he added, like he’d just remember Rex was with them. “You doing okay?”

“Fine, General.” Rex’s voice was clipped and polite behind his helmet, but his irritation prickled at the edge of Ahsoka's mind. “Commander Tano has been shielding me.”

“Ah.” Anakin looked slightly awkward. “Good.”

He sped up quickly (leaving Ahsoka rolling her eyes in his wake) and approached the Daughter. “Excuse me!” he called. “Who are you taking us to?”

“The Father, of course.” The Daughter sounded annoyed. Ahsoka rolled her eyes again. It was like she’d forgotten they were mere mortals, incapable of instantly knowing everything about everything.

“Of course,” Anakin muttered, apparently having reached the same conclusion.

“And what exactly are _you?”_ Master Kenobi asked.

The Daughter glanced back at him. “We are the Ones who guard the Power,” she answered. “We are the Middle, the Beginning, and the End.”

“That,” Rex muttered, “is the most _unhelpful_ explanation I have _ever_ heard.”

Anakin snorted.

Something prickled at the back of her neck. Ahsoka looked up and her stomach dropped - the once-green foliage was turning brown and dead around them.

“Anakin!” she shouted - just as the massive stones _cracked_ around them.

Ahsoka scrambled backwards, dragging Rex with her. His arm wrapped around her as his jet boots activated, dragging them both out of the way of the sudden rockslide.

“General Kenobi!” Rex shouted, releasing her and darting forward. “Hang on, sir -”

Ahsoka rushed after him. It was just like before - Master Kenobi had been knocked off the path by the avalanche. This time, however, she and Rex pulled him up together.

“Thank you both,” he said with a smile, dusting off his robes. He regarded the massive pile of stones worriedly. “Ah… that could be a problem.” He activated his comm, pacing anxiously in front of the rocks until Anakin picked up.

“Anakin,” Master Kenobi said, relief evident in his voice. “Are you all right?”

Anakin’s voice came through the comm, sounding just as annoyed as Ahsoka remembered. _“Yeah,”_ he grumbled. _“But our friend here has RUN OFF!”_

Nothing in the rest of the conversation changed - it all slotted neatly into place in Ahsoka’s memories, right down to Master Kenobi showing a _stunning_ lack of self-awareness after Anakin hung up and tsking about Anakin being “reckless and impulsive.”

“Can’t imagine where he learned that, General,” Rex said genially.

Ahsoka wheezed at Master Kenobi’s affronted expression. Force, her entire lineage was a _disaster._

* * *

“I,” Rex announced, staring at the circle of dead plants where their ship used to be, “hate this kriffing planet.”

To his left, Ahsoka sighed. “Right there with you, Rexster.”

Rex glanced at her. She was rubbing her arms and glancing up at the rapidly-darkening sky, eyes wide and nervous. He was - well, he was worried about her. He didn’t know what had happened on Mortis the first time (not exactly) but based on what he’d gotten out of her, it had been bad.

Nobody had died. All three Jedi had made it home, but - there were other ways to scar a person.

“We should find shelter,” she said, glancing around the clearing. “There should be a cave nearby -”

“The plants,” General Kenobi said suddenly. “They’re all dying.”

_Whoosh._

_“Did you lose something?”_

Rex whipped around, leveling his pistols at the source of the deep, velvety voice. He looked up… and up… and up…

 _That,_ Rex realized dimly, _is a very tall man._

The gaze of the very tall man swept across the three of them - his eyes were like burning coals, sending a shiver up Rex’s spine. “You did not do as you were asked,” he murmured, like he was _disappointed._ His voice echoed around them - not like the Daughter’s, whose words had reverberated in the air, but like the voice of a snake, crawling into Rex’s head and demanding his attention.

“And what was that?” General Kenobi asked, stepping forward. His lightsaber remained at his belt, but one of Ahsoka’s white blades shone in the darkness.

The man sneered. Could he be called a man, or was that a disservice? His skin was pale - not pale, _white,_ like chalk - marked with twin red slashes over his scalp and stripes like tears of blood running from his eyes. His - robes? Suit? - were black and red, in perfect contrast to the Daughter, and they clung to the lines of his body like shadows. “My sister said to _wait.”_

“Did she now?” General Kenobi replied coolly, apparently completely unruffled. “Well, we were unfortunately separated.” He raised an eyebrow. “We’d like our ship back, if you _don’t_ mind.”

_“NOT -”_

Rex fired.

The bolt struck home - dead center, over the heart of the - the _man,_ the _whatever he was_ \- and then a moment later there was nothing.

“Rex,” Ahsoka whispered, fear thick in her voice.

Rex was frozen under the man’s gaze as the _snap-hiss_ of lightsabers filled the air - _not a man, not simply a man, what_ was _he -_

Then the man threw his head back and _laughed._

“Spirit!” he chortled gleefully. “Ah… my sister chose well.” A sharp-toothed smile spread across his face. “But not well _enough._ Shame.”

He brushed off the front of his robes and turned to General Kenobi, suddenly serious. “Is it true?” he asked. “Is he the Chosen One?”

The _what._

“What do _you_ know of such things?” General Kenobi hissed.

The man blinked slowly. “What is about to happen,” he intoned, his voice seeming to magnify, “shall occur whether you like it or _not.”_

He waved his hand. Rex felt his stomach drop as his blasters vanished into smoke; the white-and-blue blades of the Jedi disappeared.

“You are Sith,” General Kenobi spat.

 _Osik._ Rex pulled Ahsoka behind him, worried by how willingly she hid behind him.

“Sith!” The man chuckled. “Yes. And no.”

Rex didn’t relax his grip on Ahsoka as the man turned away.

“The storms here are quite lethal,” the man called over his shoulder as rain began to pour. “If you want to live, I suggest you find shelter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rex, meeting the Daughter - I’m too gay for this.  
> Rex, meeting the Son - This defense has backfired.
> 
> In canon, no time passed between the beginning and ending of the Mortis arc, from the POV of those outside it - so there won’t be any chatlogs, I’m afraid. I considered making some anyway, just for fun, because Denal is absolutely stressed out of his mind and the general mindset of the 501st is "????", but in the end I decided it probably wasn’t a great idea.
> 
> Togruti Translations  
>  _Kon r̀in klin_ \- They/he/she (singular pronoun) is/are good. Togruti only has two third person pronouns - one plural and one singular


	16. The Flames Rose Higher

After getting a fire going in the dry, crystal-strewn cave, Rex went looking for Ahsoka.

He didn’t have to go far. She was standing at the mouth of the cave, hugging herself as she stared out at the storm, eyes distant.

“General Kenobi wanted to come find you,” Rex answered, leaning against the other side of the cave mouth. “I told him you needed some time alone.”

Ahsoka glanced at him. “Hi, Rex.”

Rex smiled tiredly, tucking his helmet more securely under his arm. “Hey, kid. How are you doing?”

“‘M okay.” Ahsoka scuffed her boot against the ground, still staring into the storm.

“Uh huh,” Rex agreed. “That’s why you’re standing out here in the cold rain, right next to the lightning?”

Ahsoka sighed. “I just… I hate this planet.”

Rex hummed. “Understandable,” he agreed. The holsters on his hips felt uncomfortably light without his blasters. “You want to tell me why?” When Ahsoka hesitated, he continued, “You told me a little before we left, but I’m getting the feeling there’s more.”

Ahsoka’s gaze dropped to the ground. “Not really,” she admitted. “But… I guess I should.”

“You don’t have to -”

“No, I’m gonna,” Ahsoka said firmly, straightening up. “It’s not - urgh. It wasn’t even a _problem_ until we came _back.”_

Rex nodded. He had a feeling that there was going to be a lot of that, in the near future. “Okay.” He took a few steps back into the cave and sat down, leaning against a large rock. “Tell me.”

Ahsoka trailed after him, tucking herself against his side and resting her little head against his shoulder.

Force. She’d been so _young._ They all had - the Kaminoans had made Rex and his brothers age twice as fast, but their minds had grown as well as their bodies. For all they joked about really being ten, they _were_ twenty years old, in every way that mattered.

But Ahsoka had been fourteen when she’d joined the war. She’d been seventeen when it ended - younger than Rex had been when it started. It wasn’t _fair._

Ahsoka picked at her fingernails. “Do you remember the first time we went here?”

Rex hummed. “Before the Citadel, wasn’t it? Your shuttle disappeared off the sensors,” he recalled. “Guess I know where you went, now.”

“Yeah.” Ahsoka huffed. “We came here. Nothing much has changed - I mean, the Daughter didn’t even look at me, last time, but I guess we’re both - different, now.

 _“Klinkanest,”_ Rex murmured.

Ahsoka nodded. _“Chemust,”_ she said, poking Rex in the ribs. “I guess, at least. Still don’t know what that means.” She sighed. “There’s three of them. The Daughter, the Son, and the Father.”

“No Mother?” Rex checked.

Ahsoka shrugged. “None that I ever heard of.” She shifted a little bit and began to explain the nature of the Ones and what they’d done last time she was on Mortis.

The description of the trial General Skywalker had been put through made Rex’s blood boil. Forcing someone to choose _who_ to save - and this came from the One who was supposed to keep peace? Skywalker had managed to save both General Kenobi and Ahsoka, but if he hadn’t -

“We tried to leave after that,” Ahsoka mumbled. “But the Son - he grabbed me before we could.”

“Ah, kid.” Rex sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

Ahsoka gritted her teeth. “He got in my _head,”_ she hissed. “He infected me with the Dark Side - he made me _Fall._ He made me try to kill Anakin and Obi-Wan, because he wanted Anakin to kill _me.”_

Rex was starting to think that the galaxy was conspiring to hurl Skywalker towards the Dark Side as fast as possible. It _would_ explain a lot. “But he didn’t.”

“No.” Ahsoka hiccuped, shaking her head. “No. The Son did. When I stopped being _useful.”_

Rex forgot how to breathe. “You -?”

Ahsoka burrowed closer against his side. “I died.” She took a deep, unsteady breath. “And Anakin and the Daughter saved me, and then I died _again_ and now we’re _here_ and I just - I don’t know what to _do._ I got _so_ lucky, Rex, I got so, _so_ lucky and sooner or later it’s going to run out and I’m -” She shuddered, when she spoke again her voice cracked. “I’m _scared.”_

“We’re not going to let that happen,” Rex said fiercely, holding her tightly as she cried. _“I’m_ not going to let that happen, okay? We’re all getting off this planet, _together,_ if I have to break the Son’s nose myself.”

Ahsoka sniffled. “Yeah,” she croaked, convictionless. “Yeah, okay.”

* * *

_“You have failed, child.”_

Ahsoka shot up, eyes darting across the cave. “Who’s there?” she called, rising to crouch - although she already knew the answer. Who else could it be, but the Son messing with them?

_“You cannot save your Master.”_

She gritted her teeth. The words _hurt -_ how many times had she wondered if she could have changed things, if she’d followed Anakin to Coruscant? And now there was a new question that haunted her thoughts - _could she have kept him from Falling?_

_“You never could.”_

“Show yourself,” Ahsoka spat defiantly. She clenched her fists; her fingers itched for the hilt of her lightsabers, but she held herself back - they wouldn’t be of any use against the Son anyway.

The fire roared as it shot towards the ceiling. Ahsoka threw up her hands to shield her eyes.

When she lowered them, a horned figure stood in the flames.

“You should have listened to me,” Darth Maul growled. Flames licked at his shoulders; his eyes glowed in the firelight. “You should have _joined me,_ Lady Tano.” He laughed, despair thick in his voice. “But now… now it is too late. Your master will fall once more and there is nothing you can do.”

“You lie!” Ahsoka snarled. Her lightsabers ignited with a comforting _snap-hiss._ “You know _nothing_ of Anakin. I will protect him.”

Maul looked at her mournfully. “You have said this to me before, Lady Tano. You were wrong then.” The flames rose higher around him. “You will be wrong this time.”

Before Ahsoka could respond, the vision of Maul crumbled to ash.

* * *

_“Rex.”_

Rex blinked sluggishly. His head was dull and aching, not unlike a hangover. The shields around his mind had dropped as soon as Ahsoka had fallen asleep; he’d been putting up with the Force-induced headache since.

_“Rex.”_

And he’d just fallen asleep, too.

He sat up, reaching for his helmet as he peered around. He willed himself not to worry too much - Ahsoka had mentioned seeing visions and hearing voices; apparently, it had to do with the strength of the Force on the planet.

_“REX!”_

Rex scrambled to his feet. He scanned the cave, searching for the source of the voice -

He froze, staring at the figure in front of the campfire.

 _“Fives,”_ he gasped.

Fives stood before him, ARC armor scuffed and dirty. His helmet - Rishi eel painted in painstaking detail - was tucked under his arm, his weight shifted to his opposite hip. The stance was so familiar, so _Fives_ -

\- and he was glaring at Rex like he thought Rex was everything wrong with the universe.

“Rex,” Fives greeted grimly. “Do you believe me now?”

“I always believed you,” Rex protested. “Fives, I never -”

Fives cut him off with a bitter laugh. “Always? _Always?_ I handed you the end of the war on a kriffing plate, I told you how to _save the Jedi_ and what did you do?” He took a step forward, looming over Rex even through they were the exact same height. “You stood by and _you let Fox kill me.”_

“No!” Rex shouted - but it was true. Fives had been killed by a brother and Rex hadn’t done anything but _watch,_ stupid, useless, _helpless_ -

“Yes!” Fives roared. “You let me die, and when I wasn’t around to stop you, you killed our brothers yourself!” His face twisted into an inhuman snarl. “And now it’s _your turn.”_

The sound of a blaster firing rang in Rex’s ears. A fraction of a second later, agony bloomed across Rex’s heart.

“No, he choked out, staring down at the charred hole in his chest. His knees gave out. _“No -_ Fives -”

The cold metal of a blaster barrel pressed against Rex’s forehead. “Sorry, _Commander,”_ Fives said. _“Wake up.”_

* * *

Obi-Wan rocked back on his heels as Rex shot upright, panting.

“Easy, Captain,” he said reassuringly, placing a hand on Rex’s arm. “Are you all right?”

Rex didn’t answer. He was trembling under Obi-Wan’s hand and his eyes stared into the middle distance.

 _Ah._ Obi-Wan shifted so he was sitting more comfortably at Rex’s side and took the Captain’s hand. He’d done this for troopers in the past - for Cody, even, when he’d woken up screaming after Tibrin. “Did I ever tell you about the time Anakin tried to build me a new astromech?”

No response. Rex’s breathing hitched, edging dangerously close to hyperventilating.

Obi-Wan squeezed Rex’s hand. “He found an ancient R1 unit somewhere in the Temple,” he continued, listening to the crackling of the fire and Ahsoka tossing and turning in her sleep. “It was far too old to work, of course, but he used the chassis to build an _utter_ monstrosity of a droid…”

As Obi-Wan continued the story, Rex’s shaking subsided. Obi-Wan allowed himself to meander easily through the tale, going on tangents about Anakin’s various misadventures as a Padawan. They were fond memories, all - for all of Obi-Wan’s failings as a teacher (he was aware of his own shortcomings, thank you), he loved Anakin as a brother.

“Rex?” Obi-Wan prompted gently, as Rex’s gaze focused on Obi-Wan’s face. “Are you with me?”

Rex shuddered, pulling his arm away. “Yes, General,” he said quietly. “Sorry, sir.”

“It’s quite all right,” Obi-Wan said lightly, fully aware of the tragic propensity of the clones to hide their wounds - physical and otherwise - from their Jedi Generals. “Happens to the best of us.”

Behind him, Ahsoka groaned.

Rex was on his feet in a moment. Obi-Wan rose to his feet at a more measured pace, crossing over to where Ahsoka was sitting up sluggishly, cradling her head.

“I’m okay,” she said, before Obi-Wan could so much as open his mouth. “But I think Anakin might be in trouble.”

* * *

_Be careful._

Rex watched helplessly as Ahsoka and General Kenobi were carried away in the claws of massive winged beasts and decided _kark that._ He might be unarmed and Force-blind and yes, Ahsoka had told him to _be careful,_ but he could rescue two Jedi from a castle in a Force nexus while being careful. Probably.

So maybe not, but -

They had a rule, though. No rescues. No running after anyone unless they _asked_ for help, and the bond with Ahsoka was perfectly silent.

But what else was he supposed to _do?_ There wasn’t a mission he would be turning away from. There were no Imperials on his tail, no Inquisitors hunting down the remains of the Jedi.

_ “Prudii be'ori'ramikad be'ad, cabur be'jetii'ika,” _ said a silken voice behind him, disproving all of those statements in an instant. “You seem to have been…  _ left behind. _ How unfortunate.”

Cold dread pooled in Rex’s gut as he turned around to see a head crowned in horns, black tattoos melding into the shadows off the cliff face behind him. Golden eyes gleamed in the twilight rapidly overtaking the sky.

The black-clad owner of the face smiled, revealing yellowed teeth. The dual blades of a saberstaff ignited with a  _ snap-hiss, _ bathing the immediate area in red light

“Hello, Commander Rex,” Darth Maul greeted. “This will be less painful if you surrender.”

Rex, devoid of any weapons, did the smart thing and swung his fist directly at Maul’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Obi-Wan, but he has no self-esteem.
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _Prudii be'ori'ramikad be'ad, cabur be'jetii'ika_ \- Shadow of the champion of the Daughter, protector of the little Jedi.  
>  _Ori’ramikad_ \- lit. supercommando; can be used in more general terms to refer to elite forces or champions.
> 
> Togruti Translations  
>  _Klinkanest_ \- the champion  
>  _Chemust_ \- the shadow


	17. The Chosen One

_A scream ripped through the air as she approached the warehouse. The smell of burnt flesh and charred plastoid made her gag; she could feel Rex’s pain through the bond, so fragile and new._ Where is he? _she asked of the Force, reaching out for her friend, her brother, her_ dr̀ukir̀.

_Darkness coated the roof of her mouth as she brushed against the presence of an Inquisitor. She thought she might have known him once, a duellist of the Order, but now he had a different name._

_Ninth Brother._

_She slipped through the circular hole left by a lightsaber blade and stepped inside._

* * *

Ahsoka struggled vainly in the Daughter’s grip. Curses in half a dozen languages flew from her mouth; Basic, Huttese, Togruti, Mando’a, Ryl, Pantoran - she might not be fluent, but she knew how to _swear._

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, she could sense it; she’d felt Rex’s alarm before ice froze across their bond. Alarm meant _help._ Nerves, fear, hurt, those were different. Alarm, though, alarm was _asking for help._ Something was wrong, Rex needed help, and Ahsoka was _stuck._

She heard Master Kenobi gasp in pain as the Son’s talons dug into his arm, then cry out. The Daughter screamed an admonition; the Son roared in response as he swooped over the sharp mountaintops in his monstrous form, cackling as Master Kenobi struggled in his grasp.

They were going to be okay. Anakin had saved them before, he would again.

But _Rex_ -

* * *

Maul laughed when Rex’s fist _crunched_ into his nose.

He was still laughing, blood dripping down his face, when he used the Force to pick Rex up like a misbehaving loth-cat and throw him into the cliff face.

Stars danced in front of his eyes as he struggled to his feet. “Kriff -”

“Such tenacity,” Maul purred. He raised a hand; pressure wrapped around Rex’s throat, choking him as he was lifted into the air.

Rex clawed helplessly at his throat as Maul stepped forward, eyes burning. _“Chakaar -”_

“I _did_ warn you,” Maul said mildly, smiling as darkness crawled over Rex’s vision. “If only you had surrendered.”

Rex gasped out a curse as Maul called Ahsoka’s lightsaber into his hand. _How dare you,_ he wanted to howl, _that’s not_ yours -

The blade ignited with a familiar _snap-hiss._ Maul tilted his head as he examined it, ignoring Rex’s struggle for air. “Green,” he murmured. “Odd. I remember blue.”

He was still examining it when Rex’s vision finally went black.

* * *

_Smoke rose from the hole in the Ninth Brother’s back as he folded like a ragdoll. Ahsoka rushed forward as Rex collapsed, catching him before he could hit his head against the duracrete floor. His blaster clattered to the ground, next to the remains of his beloved rifle._

_“‘Soka,” he managed, slumping against her. “Ahsoka -”_

_“It’s okay,” she whispered, calling a nearby medikit into her hands as she saw his wounds._ “Udesii _\- oh, Rex -”_

_There were a dozen lightsaber burns cut into his thighs and stomach - the armor was unsalvageable, she had no idea how Rex had even managed to stand. “Let me help,” she murmured, laying a hand over the worst of it and trying to draw out the pain with the Force._

_Rex sobbed._

* * *

Anakin ground his teeth together as the old man led him into the courtyard of his - Temple? Monastery? Whatever it was. He hadn’t heard _anything_ from Obi-Wan or Rex. Ahsoka was a Temple-fresh Padawan, he wasn’t expecting _that_ much (Teth aside), but the other two…

“It is time to face your guilt,” the old man rumbled, gesturing to him, “and know the truth.”

Right on cue, a high-pitched screech and a demonic roar cut through the sky. Anakin looked up, fear rapidly overwhelming bewilderment as a glowing gryphon and a massive bat-creature descended into the arena - holding Ahsoka and Obi-Wan in their grips.

 _(Rex,_ part of his mind whispered, but he was too focused on his Master and Padawan to pay it much heed.)

“What is this?” he demanded as the creatures landed on opposite sides of the arena. Both captive Jedi were struggling to free themselves. “Let them _go!”_

The Father merely smiled.

“I will not play your games, old man!” Anakin roared, taking a step forward.

“Oh,” the Father said, amusement coloring his voice - _voices?_ \- as he circled around behind “But I think you _will._ I have ordered my children to kill your friends. The question is -”

Anakin wheeled around furiously, but the Father was already gone - no, not gone. He stood over the arena, his voice booming through the air.

_“Which one will you choose to save? You Master?”_

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan desperately. The older man’s jaw was clenched as he slumped in the Son’s grip, breathing hard.

_“Or your apprentice?”_

Ahsoka’s eyes were narrowed, fangs bared as she tried to pull herself free.

 _“You must now release the_ guilt!” the Father shouted, and what the kriff did that even _mean,_ _“and free yourself by choosing!”_

 _“No!”_ Anakin roared impotently. He felt stupid, useless, helpless. What was the right answer? What was he supposed to _do?_

Obi-Wan raised his head. “Their powers are too strong for us, Anakin!” he called. “Save Ahsoka!”

_Master -_

“Don’t you dare!” Ahsoka spat.

_Ahsoka!_

Anakin felt like he’d been stabbed. Rex would never forgive him if he let Ahsoka be killed - and Cody would never recover from Obi-Wan’s death.

And no matter who he chose, Anakin would never be able to forgive himself.

He balled up his fists, forcing his fears down and glaring up at the Father. _“Let. Them. Go.”_

The Father merely smiled. _“Only you can make my children release them.”_

Anakin gritted his teeth. _What am I supposed to do?_ he screamed into the Force.

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan shouted. “The planet _is_ the Force. Use it!”

The planet -

Oh. _Oh._

Okay.

Slowly, Anakin lowered his shields. The Force poured into him - it was almost _eager,_ like it was welcoming back a wayward child. Anakin drank it in eagerly, swaying from the rush of it, letting the power pool in the pit of his stomach and spark between his teeth, filling him up until he could feel it in the bones of his fingertips.

 _“You will let them,”_ he growled, his voice ringing in his ears with an inhuman growl, _“GO.”_

Anakin flung his arms wide, sending a shockwave through the arena. The Son and the Daughter staggered back, stunned; he raised his arms, calling on the power pulsing in his chest and _lifted._

The _power_ that rushed through him as the Ones rose into the air - Anakin thought, in a distant sort of way, that he could get drunk on that alone.

The sky darkened, the ground lit up, the world tilted on its axis - the Force hummed under his skin, white-hot and wrathful; how _dare they hurt his family, his padawan, his Master, how dare they -_

_DROP THEM._

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan landed lightly on their feet. Anakin’s heart eased; they were safe, now - he could focus on _punishment._

He _flung_ the Son and the Daughter against the sides of the arena. Stone crumbled under the impact; the Daughter cried out; he _did not care._ Only fury built in him as the Ones rose into the air, heading towards _his people -_ lightsabers ignited with a _snap-hiss_ -

Anakin _grabbed them._

 _“DOWN!”_ he roared. His blood burned in his veins as he threw them to the ground at his feet. _“ON YOUR KNEES!”_

The Daughter screamed, the Son roared - 

But in the end, they both bowed at Anakin’s feet. Their monstrous forms were gone - no more wings or fangs or claws, only fragile, breakable _people._

Abruptly, the world righted itself. Anakin nearly collapsed as the Force left him, clinging onto the thinnest thread of righteous anger to keep himself upright. Even that was quickly fading to annoyance.

“And now,” the Father said solemnly, voice echoing as he approached, “you see who you truly are. Only the Chosen One could tame _both_ my children.”

 _The Chosen One._ If Anakin heard one more thing about being _the Chosen One,_ he was going to - to -

Well, if it happened immediately, he was probably just going to vomit on someone’s shoes. But once he’d had a nap and maybe a snack, he was going to punch them.

“I’ve taken your test,” he snapped - when did he get out of breath. “Now fulfill your promise and let us _go.”_

“Ah, but first -” _I am going to punch this old man in the face,_ “- you must understand the Truth. Now - all of you, leave us.”

Obi-Wan reached for his arm. “Anakin -”

“I said,” the Father rumbled, _“leave us.”_

Anakin bristled against the subtle wash of power as his friends left, followed by the cowed forms of the Son and the Daughter.

“Do you feel your destiny?” the Father asked. “You must see it now!” He sounded so honest, so _earnest,_ and Anakin _still wanted to deck him._ He was pretty sure that if he did, he’d lose his other arm, but maybe it would be worth it.

It wouldn’t be worth dealing with Janlee yelling at him, though, so he didn’t.

“I am dying…”

Okay, so maybe it _would_ be worth punching him. Anakin immediately felt guilty for wanting to punch an old, dying, man, but - _come on._

“ …and _you_ must replace me.”

That… was not how Anakin was expecting that sentence to end. “Uh. No?” He shook his head. “I can’t _stay_ here.”

“But -” The Father stared at him in confusion. “This is _yours._ It has been foretold. The Chosen One -” _kriff off,_ “- will remain to keep my children in balance.”

“No,” Anakin repeated, taking a step back. “No way.”

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy as the Father’s expression crumbled. “I… cannot force you to do this,” he admitted, bowing his head. “The choice must be yours.”

Anakin looked away, suddenly unable to bear the heartbreak in the old man’s voice. He felt - he didn’t know what he felt. But he had a _duty_ \- to his men, to his Padawan, to _Padme._ He couldn’t just _abandon_ them.

“But if you leave,” the Father warned, his voice suddenly hard, “your selfishness will haunt you - and the galaxy.”

* * *

_“He was looking for you,” Rex rasped as she cut away his blacks, wincing at the places where they had been burned into his skin._

_“Oh.” Of course. Why stop at killing Jaig when you could take out Fulcrum too?_

_“I didn’t tell him anything.”_

_Ahsoka frowned at the medikit. There wasn’t enough bacta left - not for wounds like these._

_Rex stirred. “‘Soka?” he said anxiously, trying to twist around to look at her. “Vod’ika?”_

_She placed a hand on his chest, settling him back against her shoulder. “I believe you,” she promised. “It’s okay, Rex._ Fr̀or̀ pr̀in gantor̀. _We’re okay.”_

* * *

Ahsoka’s skin was buzzing with worry as Anakin followed her and Obi-Wan to their shuttle, waiting on the monastery’s landing platform like it belonged there. Her bond with Rex was still cold and dark; she was sure now that someone was blocking it deliberately.

 _Someone_. The Son. Morai trilled softly at her shoulder.

“Where’s Rex?” Anakin asked as the shuttle ramp closed behind them; he looked askance at Morai but didn’t say anything. “Wasn’t he with you guys?”

“Indeed.” Obi-Wan slid into the pilot’s seat. “We were unfortunately separated when we were ambushed by the Ones, however. He’s likely making his way to the monastery; we’ll simply have to pick him up.”

Anakin nodded and turned to her, sitting on the edge of the small bunk crammed into the shuttle wall for long journeys. “You okay, Snips? I know this probably isn’t what you were expecting when you left the Temple.”

 _The Temple._ The Temple - it was still _there._ Still safe and whole and full of living, breathing Jedi.

“Ahsoka?”

She shook herself. _Later._ “I’m fine,” she answered, raising a hand to the still-unfamiliar weight of her Padawan beads. “Just worried about Rex.”

Anakin smiled at her kindly, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Rex is a smart man,” he said seriously, “and a good soldier. He’ll be fine.”

“Yeah,” Ahsoka agreed. “Probably.”

Anakin raised an eyebrow. “It’s sure going to get repetitive if I have to keep prompting you to tell me what you’re thinking.”

Ahsoka grimaced. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Habit.” She took a deep breath, sitting cross-legged on the shuttle floor. “I just… I have a really bad feeling”

“Okay.” Anakin relocated himself to the floor across from her. “A bad feeling, huh? Let’s see if we can track him down.”

Ahsoka eyed him. “Are you sure? You look kind of…”

“Dead on his feet?” Obi-Wan called back, exasperation coloring . “Yes, that would be a side-effect of channeling a planet’s worth of Force. _Please_ do not use the Force until you’ve _rested,_ Anakin.”

“But -”

“Master Obi-Wan is right,” Ahsoka said quickly. “You should get some rest. Master Obi-Wan and I can find Rex.” (She also did not particularly want Anakin digging around in her head.)

“But -”

Ahsoka _pinged_ her Force presence against his shields. Anakin physically swayed, slumping against the shuttle wall.

“Get some sleep, Anakin,” Master Kenobi said gently.

Anakin grunted, hauling himself to his feet. He pointed a finger towards the cockpit. “You’re gonna wake me up when you find Rex, right?”

“Of course.”

With the assurance of his Master, Anakin reluctantly climbed into the lower bunk and closed his eyes. He was asleep in moments, his presence in the Force dulling to a low roar as the exhaustion he’d been holding at bay swamped over him.

Ahsoka sighed and picked herself up from the floor, leaving Anakin to sleep as she moved into the cockpit. She took the co-pilot’s seat, bracing her elbows on the arms of the chair and staring out at the planet below.

The shuttle moved in wide, slow arcs as Master Kenobi searched for any sign of Rex. But there was nothing - no hint of blue or flash of white, no glint of sun on metal that might give away the sniper’s nest of a wary, war-weary soldier. Not that Rex had a rifle, but old habits died hard and he was an _excellent_ shot.

“What does your bond tell you?” Master Kenobi asked quietly.

Ahsoka glanced at him, but he was still focused on the planet below. “Not much,” she admitted quietly. “Someone’s blocking me, I can’t tell what’s happening. It’s just… cold. And I know he’s in trouble.”

“Cold,” Master Kenobi mused. He drummed his fingers against the controls of the shuttle. “The Son.”

Ahsoka frowned. “But the Son was busy dragging us off to the Father’s monastery,” she pointed out. “He couldn’t have taken Rex at the same time.”

Master Kenobi’s expression was somber. “Then we are not alone here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So y’know how Rex is missing a bunch of armor plates in Rebels? That’s my explanation for it.
> 
> OKAY BUT Y’ALL DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE NEW BAD BATCH SHOW?? It’s probably going to torpedo my canon for this fic but I Do Not Care those are my Boys. Give me Cody. Give me the BEST ori’vod!
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _Udesii_ \- Calm down, relax, take it easy  
>  _Vod’ika_ \- little sibling  
>  _Chakaar_ \- bastard
> 
> Togruti Translations  
>  _Dr̀ukir̀_ \- honorary family, lit. hunt-kin  
>  _Fr̀or̀ pr̀in gantor̀_ \- you (singular) are safe. Due to the collectivist culture of Shili, the singular you is emphatic and rarely used.
> 
> (Side note - if you miss my chatlogs, I'm writing a fic of Pure Chatlogs with a friend of mine, fancifully subtitled [The Tragedy of Captain Rex the Stressed](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24840016/chapters/60086983).)


	18. Shadows of Brighter Lights

Ahsoka nearly jumped out of her skin as Anakin woke up with a yell.

“Having a nightmare?” She followed Morai out of the cockpit, pausing in the doorway to lean against the wall as the convor bumped against Anakin’s cheek.

“Something like that,” Anakin muttered, patting Morai clumsily. He frowned, peering around at the shuttle’s dim interior. “Where’s Rex?”

Ahsoka hunched her shoulders. “We haven’t found him yet,” she admitted, unable to meet Anakin’s incredulous gaze.

“Why not?” he demanded, shooting to his feet. “What’s wrong?”

“We don’t know where he is,” Ahsoka said quickly. “I still can’t sense him, and Master Kenobi hasn’t been able to locate him either.”

Anakin scoffed. “Well that’s poodoo,” he said fiercely, striding past Ahsoka into the cockpit. “Hey, Obi-Wan - move over, I’m gonna fly.”

Ahsoka hurried after him, not wanting to be caught alone in the back of the shuttle  _ (again, _ her memories supplied helpfully). Morai fluttered after her, resuming her by-now-customary perch between Ahsoka’s montrals.

“Anakin,  _ really, _ I  _ am _ capable of flying,” Master Kenobi complained as Anakin unceremoniously bundled him out of the seat.

“Yeah, well, you haven’t found Rex yet, so move  _ over _ -”

Ahsoka smothered a giggle at the exasperated look on Master Kenobi’s face.  _ “Ana _ kin -”

“I’ve got this, Master.” Anakin shot a grin over his shoulder. “Maybe  _ you _ need to take a nap.”

“Hilarious,” Master Kenobi deadpanned, sweeping past Ahsoka into the back of the shuttle. “Very well, Anakin, try your hand at it.  _ We _ certainly haven’t gotten anywhere. Ahsoka, if you don’t mind -”

Ahsoka trailed after him, glancing over her shoulder as Morai fluttered over to perch on the shuttle dashboard. “Is something wrong, Master Kenobi?”

“Not at all.” Master Kenobi sat cross-legged on the floor. “Take a seat, young one.”

Ahsoka sat.

“I’ve been thinking about what you told me,” Master Kenobi began quietly. “About your bond with Rex.” He held up a hand when Ahsoka opened her mouth. “I don’t know why you haven’t told Anakin about it, but it’s your secret to keep. Not mine. Rather, you told me that you felt that someone was blocking your bond. I wanted to see if we could undo the obstruction, perhaps find some clue as to where Rex is, or who might have taken him.”

Ahsoka hesitated. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Master Kenobi, but… she just didn’t like the idea of  _ anyone _ in her head. There was too much  _ stuff _ in there. “Are you sure…?”

Master Kenobi smiled kindly. “I won’t look at anything you don’t want me to,” he assured her, as his presence in the Force expanded to fill the shuttle, calm and soothing. “If you’re comfortable?”

Ahsoka swallowed. She was still nervous, but if Master Kenobi promised not to pry then he wouldn’t - and it had been  _ so long _ since she’d gotten to speak with another Jedi, to really speak; there was a depth and nuance to the Force that words alone just couldn’t convey. 

“Yeah,” Ahsoka agreed. “Okay.”

Carefully, she lowered her shields. Master Kenobi’s presence skimmed over the surface of her mind, probing carefully as she guided him towards the bond with Rex, relaxing into the warmth and trying not to cling to it too greedily.

She’d  _ missed _ this feeling, though - the peace that came from folding your Force presence into another’s… there was nothing like it in the galaxy. She’d missed the Order so  _ badly _ \- she’d needed to leave, she understood that, but -

She had wanted to return. Every day, she’d wanted to go back - right up until there was nothing to go back  _ to. _

Master Kenobi pressed against the block, making Ahsoka startle and rub at her montral.  _ That _ \- was not supposed to happen.

“I see,” Master Kenobi murmured after a moment. “Whoever did this is quite powerful, but is either arrogant or unskilled.”  _ Possibly both, _ he added silently, making Ahsoka snort.

He guided her to the weak points of the block, running through the cold presence there like cracks in a glacier. She pushed at them like he told her - for all her experience, Ahsoka had never finished her Jedi training and Obi-Wan was a member of the Council. He was undoubtedly the more experienced party here.

_ This may be uncomfortable, _ Master Kenobi warned, before a sharp  _ crack _ rang in her head.

* * *

Rex’s mouth tasted like blood.

His throat felt scraped raw as he took a careful breath; if there were no bruises on his neck, he’d be very surprised. But he was more concerned with the throbbing pain in his shoulder and side. He didn’t  _ think _ anything was broken but his ribs were definitely bruised and something in his shoulder felt torn.

He tried to push himself upright and hissed in pain.  _ Definitely torn. _

“Ah, Commander.” Rex stiffened as a low, smooth voice rolled through the air like thunder. “How kind of you to join us.”

_ Kriff. _

The Son stood at the entrance of the room -  _ cell, _ this was definitely a cell - smiling with the knife-edged benevolence that meant pain was inevitable.

It didn’t take Rex long to assess the situation - he was still armored but his holsters were gone, even Ahsoka’s lightsaber had been taken from his belt. If he was still in armor, he  _ probably _ wasn’t going to be interrogated (at least, by traditional methods) which meant he was probably bait. Great. He clenched his jaw and glowered at the Son.  _ Chakaar. _

The Son  _ tsk _ ed. “Such hostility.” He approached, practically gliding over the smooth stone floor before he stopped to loom over Rex. “There is no need for animosity between us, Commander. We are very similar, you and I.”

Rex scoffed.

“You laugh,” the Son noted, because stating the obvious was a trait of the Dark Side, apparently, “but it is true. We are both the shadows of brighter lights, are we not? I have my sister...” He smiled, leaning down so his face was level with Rex’s. “And you have  _ yours.” _

_ Ahsoka. _

Rex shot to his feet, swinging a fist at the Son’s smug face.

The Son vanished with a laugh that echoed around the room and Rex’s fist connected with nothing but air. “Yes!” the Son chortled. “So similar indeed. We cannot escape our sisters, my friend - not alone. But together, I think we will do great things.”

Cold hands clamped down on Rex’s shoulders. “If only you do…  _ one _ thing for me.”

Rex spat furiously and tried to twist out of the grip, but he was frozen in place, couldn’t  _ move _ -

The Son leaned down. His breath was like ice on Rex’s cheek.  _ “Execute Order Sixty-six.” _

_ GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS. _

* * *

“Ahsoka?  _ Ahsoka!” _

“What the hell’s going on back there?”

“Ahsoka, can you hear me?”

Ahsoka reeled back, gasping. Horror crawled up her throat as she reached for the bond, reached for Rex, and only found  _ CT-7567. _

The chip had turned him into a  _ droid - _

Memories of Mandalore flashed past her eyes, unbidden. She gritted her teeth and  _ flung _ them into the Force - she couldn’t afford to be angry, to be scared, to be  _ betrayed. _ Not right now. She could have a breakdown later all she wanted, but Rex needed her  _ now. _

Master Kenobi’s presence brushed against Ahsoka’s mind, snapping her back to reality. “He’s in trouble,” she blurted immediately, even before she realized she was lying on the floor with Master Kenobi kneeling over her and looking… very worried.

“Yes, I gathered that.” Master Kenobi rose to his feet as Ahsoka picked herself up. “Do you know where he is?”

Ahsoka licked her lips, wrinkling her nose as she tasted blood. She must have bitten her tongue. “I think so.” She pushed past Master Kenobi, trying to hide her stumble as he head swam. “Anakin -!”

The door to the cockpit slammed shut. At the same moment, Master Kenobi cried out.

Ahsoka spun around, heart in her throat -  _ it’s happening again; _ she was waiting for cold fingers to close around her throat -

Master Kenobi was struggling in the Son’s grasp.

_ No. _ No, no, no-no-no she  _ knew _ what happened next,  _ not Obi-Wan, not him not him _ Anakin would be  _ furious _ -

“Let him go!” Ahsoka shouted. Her voice trembled; her feet were frozen to the floor.  _ Let him go let him go let him  _ go -

“Go?” the Son echoed. He chuckled, tightening his grip around Master Kenobi’s throat and lifting him into the air. “I think not. If you want this one back…  _ come get him.” _

The floor of the shuttle opened and the Son  _ fell. _ Master Kenobi fell with him, his scream snatched away by the wind.

Ahsoka bolted for the cockpit.

“What the hells is going on back there?” Anakin demanded.

“Son took Master Kenobi,” Ahsoka gasped out, sliding into the co-pilot’s seat. “I don’t -  _ there! _ The canyon!”

Morai squawked as Anakin snapped the shuttle around in a banking maneuver that it was  _ not _ built for. Ahsoka clutched at her seat, practically shaking with nerves as the massive batlike figure wove through the stone spires ahead of her. She couldn’t tear her gaze away, couldn’t stop staring at the silhouette in Jedi robes dangling small and helpless from the Son’s claws -

_ Wind ripped at her face, talons dug into her arms; the droplets of blood were whisked away as soon as she felt them. She couldn’t stop herself from screaming as the rock faces whisked by her, heart-stopping terror paralyzed her and all she could do was pray that Master Skywalker would get to her in time - _

Anakin  _ roared _ when the Son disappeared into the fog, still clutching Obi-Wan. Ahsoka clutched at the shuttle’s controls as he plunged after it; she caught a glimpse of a looming sharp-edged tower before green light flooded the cockpit -

She was nearly flung from her seat as Anakin swerved around it, so tightly that Ahsoka would swear the paint chipped.  _ I forgot how mad his flying was - _

_ “Keepuna,” _ Anakin spat. Ahsoka blinked; the fog was clearing, revealing a black stone wasteland, streaked with lava rivers - and no Master Kenobi in sight.

“Well,” Ahsoka said, cursing her voice for trembling as she pointed to the green-tipped spire in the distance. “At least we know where the Son took him.”

* * *

Obi-Wan struggled against his restraints for several futile minutes before resigning himself to the indignity of being rescued. Anakin was going to be  _ insufferable. _

_ “Kenobi.” _

Obi-Wan’s blood ran cold. He stared, frozen in horror as the horned form of the Sith Lord who haunted his nightmares for  _ years _ melted out of the shadows. “Maul.”

Darth Maul smiled. “Surprised to see me? I suppose you would be.” His gaze flickered to the cuffs pinning Obi-Wan to the wall. “You seem to have gotten yourself quite neatly trapped.”

_ Breathe, Obi-Wan. _ It was a struggle to release his emotions into the Force - this place was seeped in the Dark Side, it  _ wanted _ to feed his anger, his fear. He managed to surrender it in small pieces, but most of it remained festering in his chest.

Maul was  _ alive. _

The Dark Lord of the Sith waved his hand and the chains around his wrists fell away. Obi-Wan stumbled as he landed on the ground. “Thank you,” he said automatically, grimacing when his brain caught up with his mouth.

“Do not thank me, Kenobi.” Maul’s smile was brittle. “The chains are the easy part. It’s what goes on in  _ here,” _ he tapped his temple, a manic gleam in his eyes, “that’s hard.”

Obi-Wan pressed his mouth together. “Is it now? And why are  _ you  _ here, Maul? This doesn’t look like the bottom of a Nabooian reactor shaft.”

Maul simply laughed. “Indeed! How far I have come since my defeat at your hands, Kenobi. An entire lifetime, one might say.” He laughed harder at that. Dread crawled up Obi-Wan’s spine - he was missing something. It was becoming certainly, dreadfully obvious that something was happening here that Obi-Wan did not understand.

“I should kill you now,” Maul mused, taking a step closer. “But my master has  _ other _ plans for you, Kenobi.” His grin was wide, too wide; he looked…  _ wrong. _ “You will  _ finally _ serve your purpose, guiding the  _ Chosen One _ to his destiny.”

Sick fear twisted in Obi-Wan’s gut. “What have you  _ done _ with Anakin?” he demanded, taking a step forward. He might be unarmed, but he would not be outmatched - not by  _ Maul, _ not when Anakin was at stake. “Where is he?”

Maul smirked. “He will be here soon,” he said, false assurance dripping from his words. “Fret not, Kenobi. You will see your student again.”

_ “Enough, my champion.” _

A deep, echoing voice snaked into Obi-Wan’s head, making his eyes rattle in his skull. “All the pieces are falling into place,” the Son murmured, gliding behind Obi-Wan, circling around to loom over him. “We have only a few more moves to make.”

Before Obi-Wan could react, the Son grabbed his arm. Obi-Wan saw the flash of fangs before white-hot pain erupted in his arm; corruption crackled through his veins, turning the world red as he spasmed before he finally - mercifully - lost consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _Chakaar_ \- bastard


	19. One Last Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, the Ones are just… they’re really cool, guys. I'd encourage you to go read their Wookieepedia pages but they're _full of spoilers_ so I won't. (Well, potential spoilers. I swear, the outline for this fic changes every time I sneeze.)

“You are growing stronger, my Son.”

“Am I, Father?”

You look up from where you kneel when your Brother speaks. He cannot help his selfishness, his arrogance - it is in his nature. It has been since he drank from the Font of Power. You - despite the longing you feel for a home you can never return to - do not hate him for this. You never have.

“Vanity, however, is getting the better of you.”

You cannot. It is not in your nature.

“How so?”

Sometimes, though - it is tempting.

“You have given into the Dark Side.”

You rise in your Father’s wake, but he stops you with a gesture. A part of you weeps for the motion - you have seen this play out, never and a hundred times behind your eyes, in the tendrils of the times-that-were where you chased your brother in the moments before your death, desperate, reaching - until you found her. Your Champion (her Shadow).

As your Father walks with your Brother towards the monastery door, he continues. “You have allowed it to feed your anger and desire for power.”

(You cannot change what happens. Only the Champions (the Shadow) can do that now.)

“By bringing the Chosen One here, you’ve shown me my potential,” your Brother hisses. “You’ve only yourself to blame!”

“Do not do this, Son,” your Father warns “Do not become what you should not. Be strong - I implore you. Or else -” the Maw flashes in your mind’s eye for the briefest of moments “- I will be forced to contain you.”

There will be consequences for your meddling, you know - but you remember Darkness and you also know that whatever happens, you must bear it.

“You look frail, Father.” Your Brother’s voice is soft, dangerous.

Ancient powers fill the room. For the briefest of moments, good and evil mean nothing - there is no light and dark, no compassion or cruelty. Only the ancient laws of the universe, in stark, uncompromising relief. Your Father’s voice rumbles with the power of stars. “I am not dead yet.”

“Well.” Your Brother is too far lost to sense the danger - or perhaps merely too far lost to care. “Perhaps I am _tired of waiting!”_

Lightning _screams_ through the air, cloth _snaps_ , the universe swirls around you, throwing you prone against the cold stone floor. You rise; you do not feel fear, but your hands are shaking, something terrible has happened (is it your Brother or your Father or have you lost them both -)

A hellish roar heralds your Brother’s survival as your rush to the monastery door. The wingbeats of your Brother fade into the distance as you cry out -

Your Father lies still at the bottom of the stairs, red lightning still arcing over his skin.

You must tend to your Father. But then -

The playing field has been altered. You must see to your Champion.

* * *

Ahsoka gripped the hilts of her lightsabers as they approached the Son’s tower.

“I hate this,” she muttered, shivering as the Dark Side crawled over her skin. _Just like on Malachor,_ a voice whispered, unbidden. “This place -”

“I know.” Anakin forced the words out between gritted teeth. “It’s the Dark Side.”

 _Yeah, no kidding._ Ahsoka scowled at the back of Anakin’s head as he strode forward. _Way to state the obvious -_

_Good soldiers follow orders._

“Get down!” she cried - just as a blaster bolt streaked towards them.

Anakin ignited his lightsaber with a snarl. He deflected the bolt with a practiced flick of his wrist, sending the blue blaze careening off into the distance. “Stay behind me!” he barked, settling into a defensive stance, scanning the horizon for the next threat.

Ahsoka ignited her own blades. _Rex -?_

_Good soldiers follow orders._

_Rex, where are you?_

_Good soldiers follow -_

This wasn’t getting her anywhere. Ahsoka lashed out as another blaster bolt shot towards them. It splashed harmlessly against the stone at her feet. “It’s Rex!” she called to Anakin. “It has to be!”

“Then why the _kriff_ is he shooting at us?” Anakin shouted back. He deflected a flurry of blaster bolts as he spoke, his lightsaber a blur in the air.

“I don’t _know!”_ She knew. “It must be the Son. He - he must have done something to Rex!”

Anakin snarled. “If he hurts Obi-Wan -”

Ahsoka didn’t pay attention to the end of that sentence. Rex (and it had to be Rex, who else would it be?) was using regular blaster bolts - which meant he was too far for stunners. The shots were coming in clusters, so he was moving closer, which meant that he would _switch_ to stunners as soon as he could -

Right on cue, a blue ring of energy flew towards her. Ahsoka hurled herself into the air, slashing the stun bolt to pieces with her lightsabers. She landed in a crouch, half-hidden behind Anakin’s bulk.

Anakin’s head snapped around towards the direction of the shot with a snarl. He extended a hand into the shadows, fingers curled like claws, and _pulled._

Rex flew towards them in a blur of white and blue plastoid. He _twisted_ in Anakin’s grip, smashing the butt of his rifle _\- when did he get a rifle?_ \- into Anakin’s mouth.

Anakin stumbled; Rex tackled him. Ahsoka grabbed at Rex with the Force and pulled him back - _don’t hurt him!_ -

She needn’t have worried. Anakin straightened, blood dripping down his chin, and _flung_ Rex into the wall of the tower. The _crack_ of impact crawled up Ahsoka’s spine.

Rex crumpled to the ground and didn’t get up.

Anakin straightened slowly. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smearing blood across his face, and stalked forward, lightsaber in hand.

Panic seized Ahsoka. She hurled herself forward, her feet skidding on stone as she put herself between Anakin and Rex. _“Don’t hurt him!”_

Anakin stopped. Looked at her.

He raised his hands in surrender, deactivating his lightsaber. “I wasn’t going to, Ahsoka,” he said calmly, like he hadn’t just thrown Rex into a _wall._ “I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

Ahsoka eyed him warily. “Okay?”

“Yeah, Snips.” Anakin offered her a reassuring half-smile. “Obviously, something’s wrong with him. Not to mention, I _did_ throw him into that wall pretty hard.”

Right. Yeah. That was the sticking point.

But this was Anakin. Not Vader. _Anakin -_ Anakin had always cared about his men.

Morai chirped as she perched on one of Anakin’s outstretched arms.

“...okay,” Ahsoka whispered. She deactivated her lightsabers and stepped aside.

She watched Anakin like a hawk as he approached, kneeling down and removing Rex’s helmet. He felt for a pulse, checked the back of Rex’s head -

In a blur of blue and white, Rex wrapped his hands around Anakin’s throat.

Quick as thought, before Ahsoka could do more than cry out, Anakin ripped Rex’s hands away and pressed his fingers to Rex’s temple.

Rex went slack.

“What did you _do?”_ Ahsoka demanded.

Anakin grimaced, rubbing at his throat. “Little trick Obi-Wan taught me,” he said. “Force sleep. He’ll wake up in an hour or so with a headache, but he’ll be fine.” He grunted as he pushed himself to his feet. “He’ll be fine, Snips. Now c’mon, let’s get going.”

 _Force sleep_ \- Ahsoka had never heard of such a thing, but she pushed it to the bottom of thel list for now as Anakin turned and started to walk away. “You’re just going to _leave_ him here?” She protested. “We can’t!”

“We have to,” Anakin retorted, turning back to face her. “Obi-Wan doesn’t have much time. We have to find him _before_ the Son tries to turn him too, we can’t waste time -”

Ahsoka snarled. “He’s not a _waste!”_

“That’s not what I meant, Ahsoka -”

“It’s _exactly_ what you meant!” Ahsoka shrieked. She took a deep, shaky breath, unable to process the stricken expression on Anakin’s face. Force, she couldn’t _do_ this - no, she could. She had to. Rex needed her. “Just - let me take him back to the ship. He’ll be safe there. I’ll catch up with you,” she added, wringing her hands to try and disguise their shaking.

A muscle in Anakin’s jaw rippled as he stared up at the Son’s tower. “Be quick,” he said finally, turning away. “And be careful.”

Ahsoka let out the breath she’d been holding in a _whuff._

Rex didn’t stir as she lifted him into the air with a grunt - she didn’t remember him being this _heavy,_ even with the Force to aid her. Then again, she didn’t have her old strength back yet. That _might_ have something to do with it.

She could feel Anakin’s eyes on her as she started towards the ship. It was probably a nigh-comical sight - a fourteen-year-old Togruta with a grown human slung over her shoulders, clutching a rifle in her hands.

(It seemed impossible - that rifle had been destroyed by the Ninth Brother, but if Jaig’s signature rifle was going to appear anywhere, it might as well be on Mortis.)

She wasn’t as good of a shot as Rex. She couldn’t think of anyone who was - maybe Anakin, behind the controls of a starfighter; but with a blaster? She’d trust Rex’s aim over anyone else’s, every time.

It wasn’t very far to get back to the shuttle. Anakin had landed them only a few minutes from the base, not wanting to get too close _just in case_ but unwilling to stray too far _(what if Obi-Wan was hurt)._

Ahsoka carefully lowered Rex onto one of the bunks. After a moment of hesitation, she laid his rifle next to him - she might regret it later (probably would, if he woke up before they managed to rescue Master Kenobi), but she couldn’t bring herself to leave him alone, unconscious, _and_ unarmed.

“Child.”

Ahsoka whipped around. Her lightsabers were ignited in her hands before she could think - but it was only the Daughter, turning the entrance to the shuttle to gold with the light that radiated from her.

“Can you help him?” she blurted out, deactivating her lightsabers. She swallowed hard. “It’s not his fault,” she added desperately when the Daughter didn’t respond, “your Brother -”

The Daughter’s eyes were sad. “I know.” She gilded over to where Rex lay and rested a hand on his forehead. “I can soothe his wounds, but what has been done to his mind is not my Brother’s work.”

“I know,” Ahsoka said. “But your Brother activated it, didn’t he? Can’t you - I don’t know - turn it off?”

As she spoke, the Daughter pressed her palm to Rex’s forehead, smoothing out the pained grimace and frown lines from Rex’s brown skin. Ahsoka held her breath as the Daughter closed her eyes.

The Daughter’s hand began to glow. Ahsoka stared, not wanting to miss anything - but the light was blinding and she had to turn away. She rubbed at her eyes, grimacing - reflexive tears made her fingers damp. _Ow._

The searing light died behind her. Cautiously, Ahsoka turned around.

The Daughter let her hand fall away. Rex didn’t move.

Ahsoka crept forward, taking one of Rex’s hands in both of hers. “Rex?” she called hesitantly. “Rex?”

Rex jerked upright, eyes wild - and immediately collapsed back to the mattress, swearing loudly as he smacked his head against the underside of the bunk above him. _“Kriffing -”_

Ahsoka clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. “You okay?” she asked, once she had enough breath to speak.

“...yeah.” Rex rubbed his forehead. There was a bruise starting to form against Rex’s brown forehead - _already_ marked with stress wrinkles, damn it. “I’m okay, kid.” His eyes darted around the cabin; his shoulders stiffened. “Where’s…?”

Ahsoka quickly filled him in on what had happened after the Father’s test. “I brought you back here,” she concluded. “Just to be safe. I was supposed to catch up with Anakin -”

Rex grabbed her arm as she turned away. “It’s not just us,” he said urgently. “Ahsoka, I think - I think Maul got brought back too.”

_What?_

“No,” Ahsoka blurted out, even though Rex would never lie to her. “No, that’s not - there’s no way -” She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, to release the building panic that came from realizing that _Maul was working with the Son what was Anakin walking into_ from her heart and into the Force. She’d have to mediate for _hours_ to sort through it all properly, but it would do for now.

“Both of you must come with me,” the Daughter commanded. “There is something I must show you, before you confront my Brother.” Something akin to sorrow crossed her face. “And something I must explain.”

* * *

Anakin’s limbs ached by the time he reached the courtyard of the Son’s Tower, the strength sapped out of him by the oppressive _Dark_ that lay over the entire area.

But he could see Obi-Wan, kneeling in the center of the courtyard, head bowed. The rush of relief wiped away the fatigue; he ran forward, a cry falling from his lips. “Obi-Wan!”

Obi-Wan didn’t move.

 _Danger,_ the Force whispered.

Anakin slowed. “Obi-Wan?”

_Danger._

But there was nobody here except Obi-Wan.

“It’s me,” Anakin tried, taking another step forward. “Come on, let’s go -”

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan’s voice was low and soft. “Do you imagine I am proud of you?”

 _DANGER,_ the Force screamed. _DANGER. DANGER._

Anakin didn’t - “What?” he blurted. “I - I mean, sure, Master - now c’mon, let’s _go -”_

“Not yet.” Obi-Wan raised his head. “There are still lessons I have yet to teach you, my _former_ Padawan.”

Something cold and heavy settled in Anakin’s gut. “Master?”

Obi-Wan stood in a single, smooth motion. “You are arrogant,” he said harshly. “Irresponsible. Impulsive.” His voice twisted in a vicious snarl that felt like a knife in Anakin’s gut. “You have been nothing but an embarrassment and a failure since Qui-Gon pulled you off Tatooine.”

Anakin flinched. “I - Master -”

This wasn’t right. This wasn’t _right_ \- Obi-Wan would never say those things, Obi-Wan _loved him -_

(didn’t he?)

“You are a _disappointment,”_ Obi-Wan spat, still facing away from him, the line of his shoulder set with the kind of fury Anakin had never seen on him.

Anakin shook his head stubbornly. “Master,” he called, taking a step forward, absurdly proud that his voice didn’t shake. _“Obi-Wan._ This isn’t you, Obi-Wan - it’s the Son, he’s done something to you, _snap out of it -”_ His voice cracked with the force of his plea. “This isn’t _you,_ Master!”

“Isn’t it?” Obi-Wan’s laugh was bitter. “I see more clearly now than I have in _years._ You shame the Order. You shame Qui-Gon. You shame _me.”_

“No -”

“And for _what?”_ Obi-Wan shouted, as if Anakin hadn’t spoken - and he might as well not have, for how weak his voice was. “Your dead mother?” Anakin felt sick. “For _Padmé?”_

Anakin reeled away. The world tilted on its axis - he felt like he was falling, but there was only solid ground beneath him - “H-how do you -”

“Oh, Anakin.” For a moment, Obi-Wan sounded so much like his old self - his _real_ self - that Anakin almost cried. “Did you really think I didn’t know?”

“But - but -” Anakin flailed helplessly. _“Why_ would you - why didn’t you _say_ anything, I don’t -”

“I was too weak,” Obi-Wan continued, in that same, tired voice that sounded _just like him, it wasn’t_ fair - “Too weak to do what needed to be done. But no longer.”

 _Finally,_ Obi-Wan turned to face him - and Anakin couldn’t bite back a cry of horror.

Obi-Wan skin was pallid, the hollows of his face shadowed like he hadn’t slept in years. Dark veins cut through his skin like marbling, and his eyes -

His eyes were a glowing, sickly yellow.

“Draw your weapon,” the image of Obi-Wan commanded, his lightsaber springing to life at his side with a _hiss_ of blue light. “And I will teach you one last lesson.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original end note for the chapter was “Anakin is in possession of the brain cell for the first time and he doesn’t know what to do with it” but then Dark!Obi decided to make an appearance a chapter ahead of schedule so it uh… doesn’t really fit anymore.


	20. What is Forbidden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Man_ this chapter did not want to be written. But on the bright side, twenty chapters is definitely some kind of milestone.

Try as he might, Rex couldn’t keep track of _where_ on this kriffing planet he was. Everything kept _changing locations_ and he was pretty sure that if he got a map of the planet it would be useless within hours, if not minutes.

And then there were the locals.

“My Brother has done what is forbidden to us,” the Daughter explained as they walked. “He has attacked our Father and chosen a side in the nature of the Force. He desires to influence the galaxy beyond, to shape it to fit his desires.” Her face hardened. “There are reasons we do not interfere. Reasons we do not leave this planet. This place is our prison as much as our sanctuary.”

“That's... unfortunate," Rex offered blandly. "But what does that have to do with us?”

The Daughter sighed. “My Brother saw what would happen, when my Father brought the Chosen One here. He chose a Champion of his own, hoping to stop it.”

“Maul,” Ahsoka guessed.

“So he was named,” the Daughter agreed. “In his haste, he failed to conceal himself from me. I, too, saw what would come to pass, but I could not stop him.” She looked to Ahsoka. “So I chose a Champion of my own.” Her gaze shifted to Rex. “I did not expect you to follow her.”

Rex held back a snarl; the snap of _I’d follow her anywhere_ was too close to his lips for comfort. Sometimes - often, in fact - truths should be guarded.

“Indeed,” the Daughter agreed, as if he’d spoken aloud. “You are bonded.” She said _bonded_ like it was something significant - and maybe it was, if General Kenobi’s reaction to it after Christophsis was anything to go by - but Rex didn’t think it was _this important._

Not that he was upset about it, if it meant Ahsoka didn’t have to figure all of this out on her own. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t complain about _yet another_ Force user (Force _wielder,_ whatever) yanking him around by a string.

Ahsoka slowed as they approached the mouth of a cave. “Rex, wait.”

Rex stopped dead. His grip on his rifle tightened. “Something wrong?”

“I…” Ahsoka trailed off, her eyes wide and unfocused as she stared at the mouth of the cave. “Yes - no. Maybe?” She shook her head, rubbing at her temples. “I don’t know, there’s just something - something -”

Rex pushed down his impatience - with the planet, with the Force in general, and with the Ones - and waited for her to finish.

“I don’t know,” Ahsoka repeated. “There’s just _something.”_

“Bad something?” Rex guessed.

Ahsoka made a helpless noise and waved her hands through the air. “I don’t _know!”_

“You sense the Altar.”

Rex was glad that Ahsoka was _also_ staring at the Daughter like she’d grown a second hand. “The _what now?”_

The Daughter motioned to the cave entrance. “Follow me.”

“I hate this planet,” Rex complained, but he followed Ahsoka into the darkness.

* * *

Anakin barely raised his blade in time, so stunned was he that Obi-Wan - _Obi-Wan,_ of all people - was attacking him.

His master’s face was twisted in a snarl as their lightsabers clashed. Obi-Wan’s weight bore down on him, pressing the locked blades closer and closer to Anakin’s face.

“I don’t want to fight you, Master!” Anakin cried, throwing himself backwards out of the lock.

“You do not have a choice,” Obi-Wan hissed, closing the distance. “You never did.”

The knife buried in Anakin’s heart twisted a little more. When he first came to the order, after Master Jinn died, Obi-Wan had been very careful about giving Anakin choices - what did he want to eat, what did he want to do today, did he want any extra texts from the Archives? To a nine-year-old slave whose wants and needs had never mattered, it had been everything.

Anakin blocked the next two, three, four strikes; he didn’t try and strike back, he didn’t want to hurt Obi-Wan. Even now, he just - he couldn’t.

(Besides, he told himself, Obi-Wan was _the_ master of Soresu in the Order, he wouldn’t be able to land a hit anyway, right?)

It took three more strikes for it to sink in just _how_ screwed Anakin was. He was a good duellist - one of the best in the Order, he knew. But he couldn’t fight Obi-Wan. He could only defend himself and hope that Ahsoka would get here in time, that together they would be able to subdue Obi-Wan and get him off this Force-damned planet.

(Anakin thought, privately, that he would rather die than hurt his Master.)

Unfortunately, Obi-Wan had no such reservations. His fourth strike send Anakin scrambling backwards and his fifth flicked out like a lightning strike, batting Anakin’s defenses aside.

Burning pain seared across Anakin’s arm. In a moment of panic, he thought he’d lost his other arm; he reeled back, swinging his lightsaber blindly, but when he looked down there was a single, deep cut.

It was bad. It _burned_ red-hot and ate away at his flesh from the inside - but he could still feel his fingers. Anakin throttled his panic into submission and looked up.

Obi-Wan was doubled over, clutching at his hand. At his feet lay his lightsaber - sparks crackling where it had been cleaved in two.

_“Anakin,”_ Obi-Wan growled.

Laughter rang out from the shadows behind them. Annoyance flashed across Obi-Wan’s face as Anakin half-turned, stepping back to keep his Master in the corner of his eye.

“How is it,” an unfamiliar voice sneered, “that you can never keep track of your lightsaber, Kenobi?”

Obi-Wan’s lip curled. “If you think you can do better,” he said, taking a step back, “then by all means.”

All of Anakin’s fear morphed into white-hot rage as he saw a horned red-and-black head emerge from the shadows. _“You.”_

Darth Maul’s face split into a wide, delighted grin. “He remembers me,” he crooned, saberstaff in hand. “The Chosen One himself.” His gaze raked up and down, assessing, calculating, and his grin grew wider. “Oh, yes. He _will_ avenge us.”

“I will do _nothing_ for you!” Anakin roared, and lunged forward.

Maul’s laughter rang through the courtyard as their blades clashed. Anakin swung with all the fury he could muster; the Force pressed against his skin, whispering gleefully in his ears as he battered down the Sith’s defenses - _he killed Qui-Gon I’ll kill him -_

The red blade of Maul’s saberstaff whipped past Anakin’s eyes. He threw up his blade in a belated parry, switching his grip to block the second blow that threatened to sweep his legs out from under him. _(Or take them off completely,_ a voice offered in the back of his head.)

_(Kill him quickly before he kills you -)_

“You could be _so much more,”_ Maul hissed, circling him like a slavering nexu. Anakin turned on his heel, watching for the zabrak’s next move. “Instead you spend your life a _pawn -”_ Anakin nearly took Maul’s arm off with a parry, “- to your _Master,_ to the _Jedi,_ to the _Republic -”_

Anakin pounced, snarling, swinging his saber in a mighty overhead strike that should have cleaved Maul in two. But Maul slipped to the side, flicking the end of his saberstaff at Anakin’s shoulder; only by twisting midair did Anakin manage to avoid losing the rest of his arm.

“And for _what?”_ Maul demanded, rage warping his voice into something - something _more_ and also _less,_ as if he’d sacrificed something vital for the roar that reverberated in his words. “For glory? For power?” His lips curled in a sneer. “For _love?”_

“Shut up and _fight!”_ Anakin shouted.

Maul laughed. “If you insist.”

The flurry of blows that followed would have knocked Anakin the Padawan off his feet. But the war had taught Anakin more in two months than Obi-Wan had taught him in a year. He twisted and turned, catching some blows on his blade and avoiding others entirely. He aimed a pair of blows at Maul’s saber hilt, but Maul seemed to be expecting that and caught both strikes on his blades with a laugh.

“What do you see, _Skywalker?”_ Maul asked, eyes wide and wild. “Where will you go, when it all comes crumbling down?” He leaned forward, pressing into the blade lock. “What’s the last choice you made for _yourself?”_

_I know I’m disobeying my mandate to protect you, Senator, but… I have to go. I have to help her._

Anakin _screamed_ his fury into the Force. Maul stumbled backwards, eyes widening - Anakin _hurled_ himself forward, the Force laughing in anticipation _he killed Qui-Gon I’ll kill him -_

His strike never landed.

His feet never hit the ground.

Anakin choked as the Force wrapped around his throat and froze him in place.

“I think,” Obi-Wan said behind him, voice glacially calm, “that that’s _quite_ enough.”

Anakin struggled for breath as he was turned around.

Obi-Wan stood where Anakin had left him. In one hand were the splintered, sparking remains of his lightsaber; the other was raised in the air, fingers curled like claws.

_No,_ Anakin tried to say, but he couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. _Master - please -_

Obi-Wan’s grip tightened.

Anakin’s limbs spasmed as he clawed for air. As blackness spread across his vision, he saw the towering form of the Son place a hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder.

* * *

Rex switched his visor to night vision as the light from the sun died behind them. Only the faint glow of the Daughter lit their way; maybe it was enough for Ahsoka, who could see better in the dark than any trooper, but Rex was liable to whack his head on a protruding tree route at this rate. _Ow._

“Do you see that?” Ahsoka whispered after several minutes of darkness and silence. “Up ahead.”

Rex squinted. It _did_ look like the end of the tunnel was growing brighter. He turned off his night vision and blinked. “It’s… green?”

He couldn’t see Ahsoka’s expression but he could feel her anxiety gnawing at the bond.

“Here,” the Daughter announced, stopping at the mouth of the tunnel, at the entrance to a massive cavern bathed in pale green light - pale green _flame,_ Rex corrected himself, shifting uncertainly as he peered over the edge. “I can go no further.” She turned to Rex. “When you reach the Altar, it will give you what you need.”

Ahsoka started forward, but the Daughter held up a hand to block her path. “No.” She looked sad. “You are my Champion. You cannot pass either.”

Rex eyed the rocky path - not even a _path,_ a series of floating rocks like stepping stones in a river. “You want _me_ to go down there?”

“It must be you,” the Daughter repeated. “You have not been chosen by the Light or the Dark. Only you may pass the barrier.”

Ahsoka frowned. “But Master Kenobi took it, didn’t he?”

_That’s… news to me._

“He was not chosen,” the Daughter said, like that clarified _anything._ “A follower is not a Champion.”

Rex bit his tongue to keep from snapping. He _really_ hated this planet. “Ahsoka?”

“I…” Ahsoka gnawed on her lip. “Go ahead, Rex.”

Rex inclined his head and stepped forward.

The stone was solid under his feet, even as he stepped onto the floating flat-topped boulders. He moved carefully nonetheless, eyeing the fiery chasm below him and trying not to think about Lola Sayu. He was mostly successful.

When he stepped onto the last boulder, it shuddered under his feet and fell.

_It’s okay,_ Ahsoka whispered in his mind. _I’ve got you._

Rex gripped his rifle as the rock plummeted - and then, as quickly as it had started, it shuddered to a stop, sending him stumbling.

Before him lay - well, the Daughter had described it correctly. It was an altar, shielded by triangular plates of a metal Rex had never seen before - _if it even is metal_ \- and surrounded entirely by green fire.

Strangely, there was no heat. Only a slight, comfortable warmth.

He glanced up to where Ahsoka and the Daughter were waiting. The Daughter nodded. After a moment of hesitation, Ahsoka did too.

Rex took a deep breath and stepped into the flames, bracing for pain.

None came. As Rex stepped over the line of fire, he felt heat wash over him, pulling at his mind - _Daughter, Daughter,_ a voice whispered - but he emerged from the flames without a single speck of ash on his armor. Not even his kama was singed.

The altar unfolded before him. The same green light that made up the flames - were they even flames, or just an elaborate illusion? Or something else entirely - shone from the center of it, seeming to emanate from a simple iron-grey rectangle.

Hesitantly, Rex reached forward and wrapped his fingers around it. The metal was cold even through his gauntlet. He drew it from the altar with no resistance.

The moment it was free, green mist swirled around his hand. Rex froze, wondering if he’d done something wrong - but no. The mist solidified around him, turning the hilt he was holding into a long, triangular dagger with a razor’s edge.

When he looked up, the Daughter’s sadness was palpable.

* * *

Consciousness returned in fits and starts. Snatches of words and images drifted across Anakin’s mind, growing louder and more coherent as the dull throbbing in the back of his mind dimmed down to a manageable pulsing.

Anakin forced his head up. The edges of his vision were still blurry, as if someone had smeared oil around the edges of his eyes, but he could see Obi-Wan, sitting across from him, eyes closed as if meditating.

“Master.” His throat was rough and raw - it hurt to speak, but he couldn’t _not._ “Obi-Wan?”

“Ah. You’re awake.”

That was not Obi-Wan.

The Son laid a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “Welcome back. I believe there’s been a misunderstanding. We really don’t have to be enemies.”

Anakin snarled, tried to throw his hand off, but he _couldn’t move._ “There’s no _misunderstanding,”_ he growled. “You _stole_ my Master.”

(Obi-Wan chuckled.)

“Stole?” the Son echoed. “Certainly not. I merely… opened his eyes. I gave him purpose. A _true_ cause to serve, beyond the dying Republic.”

“Chuba doompa, dopa-maskey karking _kung,”_ Anakin spat, struggling against the invisible force holding him in place.

“Now, now,” the Son admonished. “There’s no need for such language. I have a gift for you.”

Anakin bared his teeth. “I’ve had _enough_ of your treachery.”

The Son chuckled. “Oh, but you’ll like this one, I promise.” He ran a hand under Anakin’s chin, seemingly oblivious to the shudder of revulsion that ran through Anakin’s bones at the contact. “What if I could show you the _future?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> George Lucas was like ‘and then we’ll never talk about Mortis again’ and I was like ‘sounds like a plot device’.
> 
> Anyway, Anakin continues to have the _worst_ day.


	21. More-And-Less

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y’know I’m gonna go ahead and throw out a content warning for the Son being extra creepy this chapter. Because dude… yikes.

_“Know yourself,”_ the Son snarled. His voice echoed inside Anakin’s head, like the ringing of a massive gong; his hands were clamped on Anakin’s shoulders, holding him down. _“Know what you will become!”_

“No,” Anakin hissed, shaking himself, trying to escape the Son’s grasp, escape the _pressure in his head._ “No!” His voice cracked shamefully. “Stop it - Obi-Wan!”

_Padme, clawing at her throat - “Anakin, please -”_

Obi-Wan spasmed, face frozen in a rictus of agony. The dark smoke rising from the ground hissed like acid where it touched Obi-Wan’s skin, leaving streaking, ugly burns. _“Anakin,”_ he ground out, limbs twitching. “Do not - do not -”

_Obi-Wan, face streaked with tears, robes pitted with burns and ash - “You were my brother, Anakin!"_

Anakin struggled to escape, leaning away as tendrils of smoke stretched towards him. _Younglings cowering, crying, begging for mercy-_ In the wake of the smoke, Obi-Wan shuddered and collapsed.

_“Master Skywalker, what are we going to do?”_

“Stop this!” Anakin demanded, clawing at his head as if he could rip the jumbled images out with his bare hands. Sick, corrupted power pressed at his skin, promising _power_ and _peace_ and _safety_ if only he would let it in; a heady rush of energy surged through his veins like lightning. _“Stop it!"_

_“ENOUGH!"_

Anakin slumped in relief as the Daughter’s voice rang through the courtyard, bringing with it a wash of Light that wiped away the awful, insistent whispers.

The Son snarled, snatching his hands away from Anakin’s shoulders as though he’d been burned. “Sister,” he hissed. “What a _pleasant_ surprise. And you brought a friend?”

“What have you _done?”_ the Daughter demanded.

“Done?” the Son echoed. “I have… _done_ what is right. Or,” he added, running his fingers through Anakin’s hair (Anakin wanted to throw up), “what is wrong. Depending on your point of view.”

“Our Father is _dying,”_ the Daughter snapped. “Tell me _why."_

The Son hummed thoughtfully. “He is just so _selfish,”_ he murmured, trailing his hand down Anakin’s neck to rest between his shoulder blades, “and was taking too long to die… so I decided to speed things along. Now -” His hand left Anakin’s back as he stepped forward, blocking Anakin’s view as Maul hurried to his side _(like an akk dog,_ Anakin thought spitefully; _like a beaten slave,_ his mind answered). _“Why are you here?”_

“I won’t let you leave this planet,” the Daughter hissed.

The Son laughed. “You are not strong enough to stop me.” He stepped away, out of Anakin’s sight. “Especially _now.”_

Ahsoka’s tiny gasp cut under the rolling thunder of the Son and Daughter. Anakin’s head snapped up at the sound - and yes, there she was, half-hidden behind the Daughter, eyes glinting like a loth-cat’s in the light.

Fear throttled Anakin. “Ahsoka,” he croaked. “Ahsoka, get out of here!”

The Son threw back his head and _laughed,_ a sound like thunder and breaking stone. “Can you feel it, Sister?” he asked, throwing his arms wide. “Can you feel the anger? The hate?” His voice dropped to a sensual purr. “The _fear?"_

The glow from the Daughter grew stronger as she drew herself up tall. Was Anakin imagining it, or did he see the outline of wings at her back? “Stop this, Brother,” she called. “It is not too late.”

“Too late?” The Son’s voice rose to a sudden, piercing shriek. _“Too late?_ For what?” He laughed maniacally. “It’s not _too late_ for anything! I will leave this _pitiful, wretched_ planet behind, and Father will not stop me.”

Abruptly, his demeanor softened. “You could join me, Sister,” he murmured, stretching a hand towards her invitingly. “We could rule this galaxy together. Think of it!” he exclaimed. “There would be no Jedi, no Sith to stand against us. We could bring _peace.”_

 _I don’t want your peace,_ Anakin thought wildly as the silence stretched. The very Force was holding its breath, stretched to a breaking point in the silence between the two siblings.

“I will,” the Daughter said finally, “not allow you to leave this planet.”

“So be it,” the Son spat. _“Execute them!”_

Maul sprang forward with a howl, wings erupted from the Son’s back, and _Anakin couldn’t move._ The familiar _snap-hiss_ of igniting lightsabers chilled his blood. There was no way Ahsoka could take on Maul alone - barely a week out of the Temple and already he was going to lose his Padawan, that had to be some kind of record -

 _“Ahsoka!”_ he screamed. _“Run!”_

* * *

Ahsoka did not run.

When Maul hurled himself forward, Ahsoka leaped to meet him. Their snarls mixed into something more-and-less than mortal as the air shook around them; the very fabric of the universe was torn apart as the Son and Daughter fought.

 _“You,”_ Maul spat as the ground shook beneath them, “should have heeded my warning, _Lady_ Tano.”

Ahsoka hissed, batting his strikes aside. “I _will_ save him,” she vowed. “No matter what you say.”

Maul’s derisive laughter cut through the air as he parried her swift cuts. “Will you?” he mocked. “And how will you do that, when you do not even know _how_ he fell?”

The _crack_ of thunder swallowed Ahsoka’s reply. Both of them were thrown to the floor as the Daughter’s tail thrashed about, flinging Maul away. The Son’s wings beat against the ground, slamming into Ahsoka and hurling her across the courtyard.

Stars danced in her vision as she lay stunned, staring up at the sky as lights flashed in her periphery. Her heart shuddered in her chest as she gasped for breath. Distantly, she was aware of the fact that she should be in pain - but with the Force so thick in the air, so bright it was _blinding,_ it was easy to forget.

She climbed to her feet, lightsabers at the ready, as the unmistakable crackle of Force lightning filled the air -

\- and Rex _screamed._

* * *

Rex slipped forward, forcing himself to measure his steps for silence despite every instinct he possessed screaming at him to bolt forward.

 _The Dagger will protect you from my Brother’s sight,_ the Daughter had told him. _You have only to ask for its protection. But as soon as you draw the blade, the spell will be broken_

The Daughter and Ahsoka were buying him time to reach Skywalker, free him if necessary (and it was clearly necessary), and give him the Dagger to kill the Son. That was his duty. That was his mission. He had to focus on _that,_ and nothing else.

(The bond was quiet, but he could still _see_ her, white blades against red, and his stomach clenched.)

Rex forced himself to breathe. One foot in front of the other, quiet, quiet, _quiet._ The Dagger couldn’t protect him if the Son just looked at him.

Skywalker was struggling when Rex finally reached him. There were no visible bonds - the Son must have been using the Force to keep him still. “Sir,” Rex whispered. “Are you injured?”

Skywalker’s head jerked up. Rex grimaced - the General’s eyes were wild and there was an unhealthy pallor over his face, but his eyes were still blue. That, at least, was a good sign. “Rex?”

“That’s right, sir.” Without an answer to his question, Rex checked Skywalker over - no blood, no obvious broken bones, one deep lightsaber burn on his organic forearm. There were deep bruises on his throat - matching the ones Rex had under his armor. Fun. “Sorry about before. Can you walk?”

“I -” Skywalker gathered his feet under him before collapsing back to his knees. “No, I - I can’t move.” He took a deep breath. “Rex, check on Obi-Wan.”

Rex hesitated. “Sir, we _really_ need to -”

 _“Do it,_ Rex!”

A lifetime of military training took over. Rex moved to the slumped figure of Master Kenobi - he looked _terrible,_ but Rex could see the rise and fall of his chest, so he wasn’t dead - and checked for vitals.

Clammy skin. Weak pulse. Pupil response was normal, but General Kenobi was definitely unconscious.

“He’s in shock,” Rex reported curtly. He reached for the Dagger, knowing that once it was off his belt he had a _very_ limited window of opportunity to get it into Skywalker’s hands. “Sir -”

A _crack_ of thunder cut him off. The earth shuddered violently, sending Rex tumbling to the ground. He heard Ahsoka’s cry as the Son and Daughter lashed out and his stomach lurched - he reached for the bond instinctively, _a_ _re you okay -?_

The crackle of lightning and the Son’s sudden _scream_ were the only warnings Rex had before a wall of agony slammed into him.

Rex screamed - until he couldn’t, until there was no more air, just white-hot _burningpiercing_ ripping him apart -

_\- stop -_

_\- make it stop -_

* * *

Ahsoka had closed the bond with Rex before confronting the Son - to keep him hidden, to keep them from getting distracted by the other’s pain. They would protect each other if they could, she knew - but the mission was bigger than them. It had to come first.

It couldn’t.

Not when the bond split open and Rex’s agony became her own.

“Rex!” she shouted, staggering to her feet. _“Rex!”_

The Son’s snarl was her only answer.

“Did you _think,”_ he spat, “that you could hide from _me?”_ The sound of electricity grew louder until Ahsoka was doubled over from Rex’s pain. “That you could reach out to your _sister_ and I wouldn’t _see?”_

 _Have to save Rex. Have to._ Ahsoka swallowed, straightening up and forcing herself to breathe. _Save Rex._

A gryphon screech cut through the air.

Ahsoka gasped as the pain vanished, accompanied by a howl from the Son. She shook her head, clearing away the stars in her eyes. Across the courtyard, Maul was rising to his feet, swaying slightly and blinking as though emerging from a trance.

The Son’s sibilant hiss deepening to a roar. _“Dispose of them.”_

Beyond Maul, Ahsoka saw the still form of Master Kenobi stir - but her attention was captured by Rex, lying still as a corpse on the ground next to Anakin. His armor was smoking slightly, the paint ruined by scorch markings - she couldn’t tell if he was breathing, not from here.

Heedless of the danger, she rushed to his side. Her heart eased when she saw the faint rise and fall of his chest, but he didn’t react to her touch or the sound of his name. “Come on, Rex,” she murmured, pressing her palm to the side of his helmet, “don’t die on me now.”

It wasn’t until she heard Anakin’s panicked shout that she looked up to see a figure standing over them.

All the foreknowledge in the universe couldn’t prepare Ahsoka for the sight of Master Kenobi staring her down with Sith-yellow eyes. As she stared, uncomprehending, he raised Anakin’s lightsaber, blade ignited, and swung.

The furious scream cut through the air like a knife.

_“KENOBI!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad to see that Maul’s back to normal!
> 
> AnyWAY. Nobody is making the best decisions in this chapter, even the folks who aren’t being mind-controlled.
> 
> Also I've collected the chatlogs I've been posting on my tumblr and put 'em into an Extras fic (that's why this is a series now lol) so the link for that is [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26108440)! It's worth paying attention to that one, as I'll probably toss some more stuff in there as the fic progresses (crack, short AUs, scenes that don't make it into the final cut, that kind of thing).


	22. Awaken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM ONCE AGAIN WARNING YOU THAT THE SON IS INCREDIBLY GROSS AND CREEPY OH MY GOD CAN YOU STOP BEING PREDATORY FOR FIVE SECONDS.
> 
> \- says me, the bastard writing him, but whatever
> 
> Specific behavior to warn for is kissing on the hands/brow and also mind control.

You awaken.

At first, you do not understand - you  _ lost, _ but you gained surety in your last breath, in the promise of a revenge you will never see. Your vision faded as you stared at a face you have hated for so long, framed under a star-strewn sky in the middle of nowhere on a planet no one cared about but you.

So why are you here? Where is here? What’s happening? You know you are in pain, that your body does not respond as it should, but you do not know where you are or why. There are bones on the floor - some small, some humanoid, some both. You reach for your lightsaber, but you find only dry skin and prominent ribs.

And in one horrible moment, you understand.

You scream. You scream until your throat is raw and your voice is ruined. No one answers.

It dawns on you that you are alone. You are in pain, you cannot see the sun, your body will not respond to your commands. Even the power that is your birthright is feeble at your fingertips - and you are alone.

You rant and howl and threaten, but the metal sky above you is immovable. The graveyard stretches endlessly in all directions and you weep at the hopelessness of it all.

For so long, you were desperate to escape this place. It is the place of your lowest years, your meanest years, it is the place you have never wanted to set foot on again; it is the place you swore one day you would destroy. It is all of the nine Corellian hells put together. You cannot leave.

You cry out for your brother, your sisters; none of them answer. Wracked by fever and delirium, you beg for your mother; she does not come. Weak and helpless, you reach for your master; he sees you and he laughs.

In your desperation, you pray to your mother’s God.

In your desperation, he answers.

It is not a hard thing, to find a ship here. Harder to find a working one, but your mind remains, though your body is ruined. Your hands shake as you fix the last connections and lights appear on the pilot’s console.

You input the coordinates, leading to a system you’ve never heard of in a sector you’ve never visited, and fly away from your own personal hell.

Towards the promise of power, of freedom.

Of revenge.

* * *

You awaken.

You do not remember landing. You do not remember anything after emerging from the blue void of hyperspace, but your pathetic little frigate sits on green grass under a blue sky, untouched by the journey.

The light burns your eyes as you emerge but all you can feel is relief. It has been so long, so, so long since you have seen life that does not stalk sick and silent through the meanest places of a dead planet - the jewel-bright flowers and bright green leaves feel like hope.

Waiting for you, in the center of a perfect circle of dead grass, stands the Fanged God.

His splendor dwarfs all else. He smiles as soon as you lay eyes on him; his touch is kind -  _ kind, _ you sob aloud at the gentleness - as he raises your broken, bloated body from where it has collapsed in awe.

“Please,” you say, unsure of what you are asking for but knowing, somehow, that you want it. That you want it more badly than you have ever wanted anything.

The Fanged God kisses your brow.

* * *

You awaken.

For a moment, you do not move, still clinging to the dream of the Fanged God and blessed escape; you do not want to open your eyes and find yourself back  _ there. _ You want your mother, you want her God, you want power and purpose and  _ personhood. _

But you are not a child, to  _ want, _ so you open your eyes.

“My Champion.”

The voice is like velvet and honey and it flows over you like a river. You gasp aloud, scrambling to stand, cursing your weak, foolish,  _ mortal _ frame -

But your body obeys. You spring to your feet -  _ your feet, your own two feet _ \- swaying from the shock of it all. You are  _ whole  _ again, flesh and blood; the reminder of your first great failure has been stripped away.

In front of you stands the Fanged God, eyes burning like coals. The pitiful remains of your old (broken,  _ useless) _ body lie at his feet.

You know, in this moment, that you would do anything for him.

“Anything?” he asks, taking your wrist in his strong fingers.

“Anything,” you whisper, trembling from the touch - so gentle, always so gentle. You do not know what he has planned. You do not care.

The Fanged God presses a kiss to your palm. “Tell me of the future, my Champion.”

You tell him everything you can remember, the words spilling from your mouth 

* * *

You awaken.

Your God is waiting for you, a smile on his lips. You sink to your knees, head bowed; your lips move without thought.

“How may I serve you, my Master?”

Your God laughs, a sound like thunder and satin. “Patience, my Champion,” he purrs, sliding closer to you with liquid grace. “Your time will come soon enough.”

You look up at him, towering over you, and think that you would wait forever to fulfill his duty for you.

So you wait.

It is not so long before your God returns to you - days, no more. You are knelt still, in worship, in reverence (for he has not given you leave to rise) when the warmth of his palm cups your jaw. You gaze up into the red glow of your God’s eyes and await his command.

“Rise, my Champion,” he intones.

You rise as you are bid, heedless of the dryness in your throat, the gnawing in your stomach, the ache in your legs. You did not bring rations here; the Force sustains you - your God sustains you. He kisses your brow and all your aches and pains fall away.

You shudder under the press of his lips. “Thank you, Master.”

“Such a sweet thing you are,” your God praises, brushing his thumb across your mouth. “Come now, my Champion. There is work to be done.”

You follow him, eager to fulfill your purpose.

* * *

Your God shelters you under his wings as he shows you a firelit cave. You know the figures within - Lady Tano, younger than he’s ever seen her; the Commander, helmet at his side, bronze skin glowing faintly in the firelight; and  _ Kenobi. _

“Patience,” your God breathes. You shiver at the brush of lips against your ear. “You will have your revenge soon, my Champion.” He brushes his hand across your shoulders. “Do your work, my dear. Sow doubts. Bring me the Commander while I attend the trial of this…  _ Chosen One.” _

Anakin Skywalker is your old Master’s prize; there are none like him in the galaxy. Perhaps, you think, there never will be again. And you would have killed him to spite your old Master (to save yourself, to save the galaxy, to spare yourself your Master’s dominion one way or another).

“Stay here,” your God orders, and you do. You stay as your God follows his Father’s summons, you stay as the dreams seize the trespassers and wake them from their slumber.

You block Kenobi out of your vision, focusing on Lady Tano and the Commander. Lady Tano is small and quiet and you barely recognize her from the haze of memories, but the Commander… 

You could watch him for  _ days, _ you think. The flames of his little campfire dance underneath his skin, reflecting dark and warm in his eyes. (He cannot see you, not without your God’s blessing, but his gaze flickers around the cave as if he senses you anyway.)

There is a scar on his chin. You feel like you should have noticed this before, although you’ve never before seen him without his helmet, have you? No, you have - but he was much older then.

He wore a beard in those days. Now his face is bare, and there is no scar on his scalp.

(There was a brief moment, in the seconds before the galaxy destroyed itself, where you saw him proud at Lady Tano’s shoulder, holding his brother close. The memory slides away like oil on water.)

_ Why are you here, Commander? _ you wonder, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest as he slips into an uneasy slumber.  _ Is your bond with Lady Tano truly so strong? _

For a moment, you entertain the idea that Savage might have followed you through time and death, but you dismiss it. Despair is useless. Rage sustains you. Your God is all you need.

You wait. You watch.

When Kenobi comforts the Commander after your God’s nightmares wake them both, you snarl low in your throat.

They do not hear you.

(It is a simple thing, here in the well of the Force, to slip into Lady Tano’s dreams and lay bare her failings.)

* * *

Finally, the Commander sees you.

The Force storms about his feet, roused to rage by his presence. You drink it in eagerly, letting the power flow through you - it is a pale imitation of your God’s strength, but you welcome the heady rush of it nonetheless.

He is… intoxicating. Fear mingles with rage on your tongue, sickly sweet and sour (you vaguely remember a candy that your brother shared with you on Mandalore); briefly, you entertain the idea of snatching him away and keeping him for your own, to feel that decadent mixture every day of your life -

You dismiss the idea as soon as you have it. It is foolish, not to mention impractical. (A small part of you remembers the isolation of the junkyard, of the Spire, of Malachor after the crash, and recoils.)

The Commander breaks your nose and you  _ laugh, _ joy singing through your veins at the sweet flash of pain. You allow him no more victories, hanging him from an invisible noose, and from here you lay claim to the lightsaber on his belt.

It is Lady Tano’s, you would recognize the hilt anywhere - but the blade is  _ green, _ not the blue from Mandalore or the white of later years. How curious.

The Commander falls. You return to your God and present him with your prey.

He is pleased with your catch.

(He is less pleased with your efforts against Lady Tano.)

* * *

Kenobi has Fallen.

You laugh yourself to tears at the thought; how powerful is your God, you think in triumph, that even the mighty Kenobi can be brought low?

The cries of the Chosen One echo through the courtyard but here, in the heart of your God’s domain, the dark side is so pure you cannot even find his grief.

(Kenobi’s pain still brings you joy, at least, but the Chosen One is a finer warrior than you believed -)

Your God stops the battle (saves you) by Kenobi’s hand. The Chosen One claws at his throat, suspended in the air.

_ An invisible noose. _

Your God comes to you as he waits for the Chosen One to wake. “Do you have doubts, my Champion?” he asks, one hand cupping the back of your neck. He is always so kind to you.

(He is angry with you for interfering with the Lady Tano’s dreams, for acting alone, he is everywhere you cannot escape him it  _ hurts - _ )

“No, my Master,” you answer. How could you?

His grip tightens. “Good.”

The Chosen One wakes. Your God begins his ritual, to bind the Chosen One to his will. How glorious the galaxy will be, you think, with the Chosen One safely tucked away from your old Master’s grasp.

Smoke rises as the Chosen One screams and Kenobi chokes on his own darkness. You reel from the weight of it, reaching blindly for your God, and find -

_ \- nothing? _

(You wonder what will happen to you when your God has the Chosen One at his side.)

* * *

It feels wrong to fight in defense of red hair and a blue blade, but the Goddess’s Champion is fierce and unrelenting and you do not have time to consider your blasphemy.

She is young, very young (how cruel of the Goddess to make her fight you) but she seems to be in two places at once and she returns each of your blows in kind. Her ferocity matches your own, teeth bared as your snarls mingle into something  _ more. _

Your God battles the Goddess around you; the Force  _ howls _ with it. Lady Tano is a master of sabercraft - but so are you, and you do not yield before her.

Thunder cracks, lightning howls, and two voices scream as one.

(You remember stubborn stalwart light and the feeling of a black blade through a woman’s chest you remember  _ Kenobi _ you remember  _ is he the Chosen One _ you remember  _ he is _ you remember kindness and sorrow at the end of the universe - and you cannot shake the feeling that you have made a terrible, terrible mistake -)

Your God’s fury crashes down; you cover your ears as hot tears spill from your eyes. (He is everywhere you cannot escape him it  _ hurts -) _

Lady Tano cries out for the Commander, the Commander does not respond. You have just managed to pry your eyes open when you hear your God’s command ring out.

_ “Dispose of them.” _

The command is not meant for you.

_ (You are no longer my apprentice -) _

Once again, you are second-best. A consolation prize.  _ Disposable. _

This is what it is to be Darth Maul.

But you are a Darth no longer.

* * *

Maul woke up.

He woke up to screaming light and howling fury; he woke to find the Force tearing itself apart as the Light and the Dark warred; he woke to find Lady Tano shining like a beacon and Commander Rex roaring in pain.

He woke to find -

_ “KENOBI!” _

Red crashed against blue and Maul lost himself in the fury. Kenobi bared his teeth, blood trickling down his chin. “A failure, yet again,” he hissed in the Son’s voice. “Why do you  _ bother, _ Maul?” He parried a vicious overhead strike.  _ You could not save your brother, _ the Son snarled.  _ You could not kill Kenobi. You could not save yourself on Naboo, you could not stop your Master, you could not even bring the Chosen One to Mandalore. You - are -  _ worthless.

Maul bellowed, lashing out with the Force and hurling Kenobi against the tower wall. He threw himself forward, hissing his fury, but Kenobi’s blade -  _ no, that was Skywalker’s, wasn’t it? _ \- blocked it.

“You,” Maul hissed, bearing his weight against Kenobi’s blade,  _ “you will die.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, frantically googling “how to describe a voice”.


	23. The Force Went Silent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm not dead. Classes _are_ taking up all of my free time though, so updates will be pretty slow for a while.

Ahsoka hadn’t even ignited her lightsaber when Maul flung himself at Master Kenobi.

For a moment she sat there, frozen, paralyzed by incomprehension as Maul’s howl echoed over the courtyard. Blue and red clashed in a perverse lightshow as the sky thundered its displeasure.

In her arms, Rex stirred.

“Rex?” she whispered; she didn’t dare reach for the bond, not with the Son still so close. “Rex, can you hear me?”

“‘Soka,” he managed, reaching for her hand. “Ahsoka -”

“It’s okay,” she whispered, casting a futile glance around for a medikit, or anything she could use to help him. “It’s okay. Here, let me -” She placed her hand over the worst of Rex’s burns, splaying her fingers over the scorched chestplate and trying to draw out some of the pain. It was a technique she’d learned from her time on Shili; it had taken her  _ months _ to get it to work.

Rex made another grab for her hand. This time, his fingers wrapped around her wrist. “The Dagger,” he wheezed out. “Where -?”

_ The Dagger. The Son. _

_ Anakin. _

_ Osik. _

Ahsoka lunged for where the Dagger lay, discarded in the Son’s attack, and sprinted to Anakin’s side. The Son roared but the Daughter flung him across the courtyard and no lightning flew her way.

“Ahsoka,” Anakin gasped out when she reached him. “Is Obi-Wan okay?”

“I still hear lightsabers,” Ahsoka answered, kneeling next to him. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. What about Rex?”

Ahsoka glanced over her shoulder. “He’ll be okay,” she answered, turning back as Rex levered himself into a sitting position. 

The Daughter had told them that the Dagger would be able to break through the Son’s power. Biting her lip, Ahsoka pushed the dagger into Anakin’s grip and curled his paralyzed fingers over the grip.

_ Come on,  _ she urged, fitting the hilt against Anakin’s palm.  _ Come on! Work! _

For a moment, nothing. Then -

\- the air  _ snapped. _

Ahsoka fell back as Anakin lunged forward. Twin roars shook the air -  _ one from the Son, one from Va - no, from Anakin _ \- 

Anakin flew forward, the Dagger singing in his hand. The Son whirled around, jaws agape; for a moment Anakin was silhouetted against the starless void of that great maw. The Daughter reared up, massive wings spread across the sky. She slammed into the Son, hurling him to the ground, pinning him.

Anakin plunged the Dagger into the Son’s chest.

* * *

The Force went silent.

Maul froze.

Kenobi collapsed, yellow eyes rolling back in his head.

His God - his mother’s God, not his, never his not  _ again _ \- was -

Dead?

He expected relief. He expected vicious joy, knowing that someone who had tossed him aside like a broken toy was  _ gone,  _ but instead -

Pain slammed into him like a spike being driven between his eyes. Maul  _ howled _ from it, reeling backwards, clutching at his head,  _ get it out get it out getitout get AWAY - _

He fell to the ground, clawing at his scalp, trying to rip out the  _ thing _ that was burrowing into his skull. It  _ hurts,  _ it  _ burns,  _ it's  _ agony,  _ it feels like you’re dying all over again as the Force rips you to shreds - there’s more power pouring into you than you can contain, dark and howling and overflowing until you’re choking on it.

No. Not  _ you. _

_ Maul. _

That’s your -  _ his _ name. Is, was, has been, will be.

The Force was still silent - outside of the screaming in his head. He could taste horror and despair on his tongue, could feel the shadows clinging to him, could sense the pain lingering dry and cracked in the air.

(Pain was not something he associated with the Commander. It felt - odd.)

He opened his eyes.

Nobody was looking at him. Kenobi lay motionless on the ground. His mother’s God lay dead in the courtyard, looking small and ashen.

Nobody was looking at him, but Lady Tano was turning towards him, would see him in the space of a heartbeat -

He fled.

* * *

As Ahsoka rushed to Rex, Anakin went barrelling past her, falling to his knees next to Master Kenobi’s side.

“I’m okay,” Rex muttered, swaying as she pulled him upright. “I’m  _ \- ow -” _

“Let Kix look at you anyway,” Ahsoka lectured.

Rex wheezed out a laugh. “Well, if you want me to wait that long -”

Ahsoka flushed. Right. Kix wasn’t in the legion yet. “Coric, then,” she said defensively. “Or -  _ osik, _ who’s the CMO of the Legion right now?”

“Um.” Rex was leaning on her far too much for comfort, but he was at least coherent. “I think it’s still Janlee.”

Oh,  _ fantastic. _ “Force save you, then.” As far as Ahsoka was concerned, Janlee was terrifying. She thought stun settings were for making sure her reluctant  _ vode _ stayed in the medbay. But she’d also been one of the clones leading the charge during those early days, when the clones and the Jedi were still trying to figure each other out and the clones hadn’t  _ quite _ figured out if the Jedi really meant this whole ‘individuality’ thing. “What happened to her, anyway? I’ve lost track.”

Rex sighed heavily. “Point Rain.”

“Oh.”

A groan from Master Kenobi made them both look over.

“Master!” Anakin’s voice was thick with relief as he cradled Master Kenobi in his lap. “Are you all right? Obi-Wan?”

“Anakin,” came the faint reply. “What… ah, what happ -”

Master Kenobi made a faint noise as Anakin pulled him into a tight hug. Ahsoka swallowed hard as Anakin assured Master Kenobi that everyone was fine, helped him to his feet and let Master Kenobi lean on him.

“He’ll remember once we’re off the planet,” Ahsoka muttered, shivering. She remembered how the memories had come back to her - first in a trickle as they flew away from Mortis, then in a flood as she tossed and turned in her bunk on the  _ Resolute, _ chasing sleep that felt like it would never come.

Rex gripped Ahsoka’s shoulder.  _ “Vod’ika?” _

“I’m fine.” Ahsoka patted Rex’s arm. “You okay to walk, Rexter?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Excellent. So they were both lying.

A rustle of wings heralded a sudden weight in the Force - the kind of immovable presence that emanated from a star. The Father had arrived.

“My Daughter,” he murmured, grief weighing down his voice. “What has happened here?”

“It was the only way,” the Daughter answered, tears choking her words. “I’m  _ sorry.” _

A dry, papery hand landed on Ahsoka’s shoulder. “And so my family dies around me,” the Father murmured. “And with them, the old balance.” His gaze turned to Anakin as he approached, still supporting Master Kenobi. “My children have made their choices. It is up to you, now.”

“We can’t stay,” Anakin said immediately. “Rex and Obi-Wan need medical attention. Ahsoka?” he asked, glancing towards her. “Are you all right?”

Ahsoka offered a tired smile. “I’m fine, Anakin.” She  _ would _ be. Her skin itched and her head felt light and the air felt like it was pressing down on her, but she would be all right.

Anakin smiled back and her heart felt a little lighter.

* * *

Ahsoka stared out the front windows of the shuttle as Anakin flew them towards the stars. Everything felt…  _ light. _ She kept waiting to wake up, to find herself back on Mortis (back on the  _ Resolute, _ back on Malachor).

But she didn’t. Rex and Master Kenobi were resting in the bunk at the back of the cabin and Anakin was sitting next to her. They had all - somehow - made it, with the only death, permanent or otherwise, being the Son.

_ Except for - _

The flash of light made her sit up. There was a junky old freighter out there, looking as though it had been pulled out of a scrap yard, weaving through the mountaintops below.

Even Maul, it seemed, had survived.

The stars swirled around them as the shuttle left the atmosphere. Ahsoka braced herself, hearing Anakin’s groan of  _ oh, not again  _ and smiling as the white light overtook them.

_ We made it. _

_ “General Skywalker, come in.” _

Ahsoka rubbed her eyes as Denal’s voice filtered over the comm.

“We read you, Denal,” she answered, as Anakin peeled his face off the shuttle controls. “Can you hear me?”

_ “Yes, sir. Standing by.” _ A handful of pixels moved, betraying Denal’s anxiety as he shifted his weight.  _ “We were worried. You were off the scopes there, for a moment.” _

“A moment?” Anakin muttered. He shared a look with Ahsoka and shrugged helplessly.

_ “Sir?” _

“Never mind,” Ahsoka said hastily. It would all have to go in the report to the Council anyway - minus the chip thing, at least. As far as anyone but her and Rex were concerned, the Son had done the same thing to Rex that he’d done to Master Kenobi. “We’re coming in now. Captain Rex and General Kenobi are injured, we’ll need someone to bring them  _ and General Skywalker,” _ she added, pointing a threatening finger at Anakin, “to the medical bay.”

_ “Understood, Command-” _

“Now hang on just a second,” Anakin protested, predictably. “I’m  _ not _ injured -”

“Oh, and I suppose that burn on your arm is from a  _ deathstick -” _

“It didn’t even go all the way  _ through, _ it’s  _ fine -” _

They were still bickering when the comm turned off.

* * *

Denal braced his elbows against the holotable and buried his face in his hands.

What in all of the nine Corellian hells had he done to deserve  _ this? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we are FINALLY off Mortis. Can you believe we spent ten chapters on that planet?
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
> osik - shit  
> vode - siblings


	24. Home

Maul’s hands shook as he inputted the hyperspace coordinates for Dathomir.

His mind was spinning, his legs felt weak; he was still struggling to process what, exactly, had happened on Mortis - the Daughter, Lady Tano, the Commander - 

_ The Son. _

His stomach heaved. Maul barely made it to the ‘fresher before he vomited.

Shakily, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.  _ Damn it. _

He felt dirty,  _ used;  _ the Son had bound him to his will with barely any effort at all, and Maul had not even thought to fight back until the Son had deemed him no longer of use. He could recall the feeling of his body moving under the command of another.

For the first time, he understood the full magnitude of what had happened on that star destroyer after his failure on Mandalore. It was one thing to feel the suffering as it fed the Dark that fueled him and another entirely to experience it firsthand.

His stomach heaved again. Acid burned his mouth.

He swallowed painfully.

So. He was alive. Miserable, wounded, but alive.

That was good.

The Empire did not appear to exist yet, if Skywalker remained a Jedi. That was also good. Lady Tano appeared determined to save him, which was… acceptable. If she succeeded. (Better to kill him and not take that chance but she was too  _ soft _ too  _ kind _ to agree -  _ your vision is flawed, _ she told him with such confidence -)

Given the chance, he was certain that she would once again doom the galaxy for the love of her Master. This was unacceptable - but he had time, now. Time to be patient, and  _ careful -  _ there need be no panicked grabs for power, no desperate gambits to rob Sideous of his prize.

He needed information. He needed allies. The Crimson Dawn were an appealing option, but time had proven them too unstable; of the factions within, only the Death Watch had proved reliable, and who knew what state they were in now.

So he would go to Dathomir. To his family. To his mother.

_ Home, _ he thought wildly, but immediately quashed the idea.

* * *

Ahsoka watched Rex through the transparisteel of his bacta tank as Coric finished checking her over, apparently not satisfied by the results of the scan. She’d managed to get off Mortis with only a few bruises, but she was the only one.

Master Kenobi was resting on a bed to her right, having been bluntly informed that he could sleep voluntarily or be drugged into it after choking down some rations, and Anakin was hunched over his bandaged wrist, eyes darting from side to side before being dragged back to Master Kenobi.

And then there was Rex. Janlee had taken one look at her scanner readout and immediately thrown him in the tank.

The burns didn’t look too bad, but electrical damage could run deep. Ahsoka’s eyes kept drifting to the mottled bruising on Rex’s neck - telltale evidence of a Force-choke.  _ Maul’s work. _ It had to be.

She tore her gaze away and looked up at Coric. “Is Master Kenobi going to be all right?”

Coric nodded. “He’s exhausted, and it looks like he hasn’t eaten in a while. But he should be back on his feet in no time.”

Ahsoka nodded. They’d kept rations in the shuttle - Ahsoka had double-checked before they left - but something about the ritual the Daughter had interrupted had taken its toll. Apparently, this was how it manifested.

Ah, Mortis. What a kriffing mess.

At least nobody died this time.

She smiled. “Thanks, Coric.”

“Of course, sir.” He stepped back as Ahsoka hopped to her feet, bouncing experimentally on her heels. “Sir, I have to advise you to get some  _ rest.” _

“I will!” Ahsoka promised, picking at a stray thread on her tunic. “Swear on my akul teeth,” she added, flashing a quick grin as she tapped her headdress. (The words felt empty without Rex to respond  _ you’re not wearing those anymore. _ ) “But I can do that in my cabin, right?"

“I suppose, sir.” Coric’s reluctance was palpable.

Ahsoka softened her smile into something reassuring. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m a great patient.” Kix, of course, and Janlee and Coric - although neither of them knew it - and a smattering of Rebel medics had hammered into her the importance of  _ listening to your medics. _ “I’ve been well trained.”

That earned a snort out of Coric. “I guess I can’t keep you then, sir.”

“Oh,  _ finally.”  _ Anakin all but jumped to his feet, bacta patch nearly falling off his arm. “C’mon, Snips -”

“You  _ sit,” _ Janlee snarled from across the medbay. Her braid nearly smacked another trooper across the face as she whipped around, eyes narrowed to slits.

“I’m bandaged!” Anakin protested, brandishing his arm as proof. The tenuously-hanging bacta patch was not a great argument.

“Clearly,” Janlee muttered, marching over, bristling with indignation in her CMO greys. “And so diligently, too. Sir,” she added, grabbing Anakin’s injured arm and examining it critically. “X’loy’a, hand me that hypo -”

Coric leaned closer to Ahsoka. “Better run for it now, sir,” he whispered. 

A laugh bubbled up in the back of Ahsoka’s throat as she slipped out of the medbay.

She was greeted immediately by her boys from Teth - Coric was obviously absent, and Del was missing as well, but Attie, Nax, and Zeer were all present, hovering outside the medbay doors like anxious birds. With them was an officer Ahsoka didn’t recognize; the shoulders of his armor were marked with inverted triangles, and smaller shapes bordered the visor of his helmet. He straightened when he saw Ahsoka, nodding deferentially.

“Sir!” Attie spoke first. “Are you all right?”

Ahsoka smiled at him and held out her arms, spinning on the spot. “Just fine, Attie. Got out with nothing more impressive than a scratch. Besides,” she added, grin stretching wider, “you really think Coric would let me out otherwise?”

Nax nudged Attie roughly. “Yeah, Attie, have a little faith in your squadmate -”

“Oh, shut up -”

Zeer rolled his eyes. “Glad you’re okay, sir,” he said respectfully, standing a few steps away from his brothers. His gaze flicked back to the medbay doors. “Er…”

“Commander Tano,” the officer spoke up, neatly rescuing Zeer from his own indecisiveness. Ahsoka turned towards him, raising her chin to look him in the face as he stepped towards her. “Lieutenant Mancy of the 56th Regiment. I don’t believe we’ve met yet, sir.”

_ Mancy. _ Ahsoka tried to summon up any memories related to the name, but she came up empty. “Good to meet you, Lieutenant,” she said politely. It irked her that she couldn’t place him - his armor was plenty distinctive, and command of a regiment was a role reserved for Commanders - or it would be, in any unit with a functional chain of command, but apparently it took the fall of the Republic for Rex to get a promotion. She  _ should _ remember him.

Unless he died before she could. It was a sobering thought.

Mancy motioned down the corridor. “Mind if I walk with you, sir?”

Ah, of course. “Not at all,” Ahsoka agreed immediately, turning and walking in the vague direction of her cabin, only to change direction and head towards the mess hall as her stomach growled loudly. “Something on your mind?”

Mancy hummed, his head twitching in an abortive glance over his shoulder - Attie, Nax, and Zeer were not as stealthy as they thought they were. “How’s the Captain doing?”

“He’ll be fine,” Ahsoka said confidently. “He’s in bacta at the moment.”

A soft sound of relief from Zeer was quickly muffled by Attie.

“That’s good to hear.” Mancy did sound genuinely relieved. “The Legion lost its original commander on Geonosis. We’d prefer not to lose another one.” Ahsoka felt her shoulders tighten at the implicit threat that wove through his voice - if she weren’t so used to doubletalk and subterfuge, she probably would have missed it, layered under good-natured humor as it was. He glanced at her. “Forgive me for asking, sir, but did you know the Captain before you joined us?”

Ahsoka nodded freely. Even if she wanted to, there was really no denying that they were friends now. “Yes, I did. He’s a good friend.”

“Glad to hear it,” Mancy returned, the picture of a respectful subordinate. It made Ahsoka’s lekku itch. He wasn’t acting like a  _ person, _ and she couldn’t tell if it was because of the Kaminoans or if he didn’t trust her yet.

Probably both.

* * *

_ Chat opened - this is an intervention _

_ Welcome, CC-2224 “Cody” _

_ Other Participants - CT-7567 “Rex”[offline], CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-1007 “Blackout” [offline], CC-1010 “Fox” [offline] _

\--

_ Cody _ \- So in case anyone was wondering what happened to Rex

_ Cody _ \- He AND my general are currently in the medbay

_ Cody _ \- for ??? Reasons

_ Mr. Secura _ \- Oh no

_ Wolffe _ \- ??????

_ Cody _ \- No theyll both be fine

_ Cody _ \- Im just YELLING

_ Cody _ \- Because I have not gotten a report yet and I Dont Know What HAppened

_ Mr. Secura _ \- :|

_ Cody _ \- You see my problem

_ Wolffe _ \- yikes

[CC-2224 has changed their nickname to Codal Meltdown]

_ Mr. Secura _ \- pffft

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- Im entitled

_ Wolffe _ \- you sure are ori’vod

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- :|

_ Mr. Secura _ \- So how bad is it??

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- IDK but Rex is in bacta and my general is on forced bed rest

_ Wolffe _ \- oh bacta SUCKS

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- It Do

_ Mr. Secura _ \- he’s gonna smell like pineapple for the next week rip

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- Hopefully Not Rip

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- I got a message from the 501 acting CO and were on route to RV with the resolute

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- so I am not There but I will Find Out Details Soon

[CC-1007 has logged on]

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- !!

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- Thank kriff

_ Blackout _ \- whats up mothers and kriffers of the jury iam Not Dead and i have important info to share with u all

_ Blackout _ \- i did steal ur ship tho cody

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- I take it back go away

_ Blackout _ \- and i need someone to cause a distraction so i can dock w the resolute

_ Codal Meltdown _ \- I Hate It Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t remember if I’ve stated explicitly or not, but yes - Janlee is a trans clone! Figured I’d clear that up now since it’s her first in-person appearance.


	25. Unknown Element

Obi-Wan does, admittedly, feel much better after several hours of sleep hooked up to an IV. He’d like to say that a good meditation would have done just as much good, but Jedi are just as mortal as anyone else. (As this war keeps reminding them.)

That does not mean that meditation is without benefit. His body may be nearly recovered, but his mind is still storming with upset. It had been nothing short of horrifying, how quickly the darkness had overwhelmed him. The death of the Son might have cleared that influence from his system, but he could still feel it lingering at the base of his skull, waiting like a snake for the right time to strike.

He settled himself cross-legged in front of his bunk, relaxing his shoulders and letting his mental shields lower.

As ever, Anakin’s presence shone like a star nearby. Ahsoka was dimmer, warm and steady, and the various unique lives of the 501st were scattered out between them like the most colorful of constellations. If he reached out further, he could find Cody, gnawing anxiously at the space around him.

The door slid open. Obi-Wan opened his eyes, blinking in surprise as Anakin shuffled into the small cabin, shoulders hunched and furtive.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said. “Is everything all right?”

Anakin stepped inside, letting the door shut around, and sat down across from Obi-Wan without lifting his gaze from the floor.

Obi-Wan sighed internally and resigned himself to a long wait. Getting Anakin to open up was often akin to pulling teeth - without the benefits of anesthetic.

The silence stretched. Obi-Wan closed his eyes once more, allowing him to slip into the pleasant drowse of a light meditation. He didn’t dare touch that little knot of darkness, not while Anakin was present and clearly in need of _something,_ even if he couldn’t bring himself to ask for it. No, that would have to wait.

Perhaps that was for the best anyway. The Council would have read his report by the time they rendezvoused with the _Negotiator,_ much less reached Coruscant; they would be prepared to help him.

(The benefits of being a Council member, he discovered, was having your reports read first.)

“Do you remember?” Anakin asked abruptly. “What happened after…”

Obi-Wan flinched. “Yes,” he admitted quietly. “Anakin, I am so sorry -”

“How did you _know?”_

Obi-Wan opened his mouth. Then he closed it again, blinking in rare and utter stupefaction. “I… beg your pardon?”

Anakin’s leg bounced as he stared at Obi-Wan with wide eyes. “How did you _know?”_ he repeated. “About…” He swallowed. “About me and - and Padme.”

Obi-Wan allowed himself until the count of three to stare at Anakin before answering. “Anakin, you are _not subtle.”_

Anakin sputtered indignantly, giving Obi-Wan a moment to collect his thoughts. “But - but why didn’t you _say_ anything?”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. “Should I have?”

“It’s -” Anakin gestured wildly. “It’s _against the Code!”_

“And yet you did it anyway,” Obi-Wan noted. He sighed. “Truthfully, I… hoped you would confide in me. Apparently, I was wrong,” he said dryly.

“I - but - what about the Council?” Anakin demanded, eyes wide. “I - Obi-Wan, if they knew, they’d kick me out of the Order!”

Obi-Wan made a faint indignant noise. “Not _immediately,”_ he said. “Knowing your feelings on compromise, I have no doubt it would come to an ultimatum, but the Order _does_ try to work with its members.”

Anakin mouthed soundlessly. “I… you really aren’t going to say anything?”

“No,” Obi-Wan said firmly. “Your secret is safe with me, Anakin.”

Any reservations Obi-Wan might have held about keeping Anakin’s secret melted away as Anakin’s face crumpled in relief. “Thank you,” he said hoarsely. “Thank you, Master. I - I couldn’t lose her.”

And just like that, they were back.

* * *

“I’m fine,” Rex argued. “Look, I can rest just as well in my _own bunk -”_

“I will,” Janlee warned, “stun you.”

 _Right._ How had Kix turned out so patient with Janlee for a mentor?

Rex gritted his teeth and slumped back on the cot.

“Nobody likes the medbay,” Janlee went on, “but you know what, nobody likes dying either, so I’m declaring it the lesser of two evils. Stay here, get some _actual rest,_ and maybe - _maybe, I said_ \- you can leave in the morning. Sir,” she added belatedly.

“Fine,” Rex snapped. He hated medbays. It was the smell that always got to him - that sterile, antiseptic smell. Like a decommissioning chamber.

“No attitude in my medbay,” Janlee warned - and then she was gone, before Rex could summon up a suitably pithy retort.

“It’s _really_ not worth it, sir.”

Rex looked up to see Coric edging closer, a datapad gripped in his hands. The medic’s eyes darted towards the door as Janlee left, presumably for the night. “Sir,” he whispered, stepping closer to Rex’s cot. “I read the datapad you gave me and -” He made a helpless gesture with his hands, eyes wide.

 _Right._ Rex straightened up as best he could. “Speak freely, sergeant.”

“What the _kriff,”_ Coric said, doing so.

Rex snorted mirthlessly. “About sums it up,” he said. “Did you tell anyone?”

Coric shook his head. “No, sir,” he said immediately. “Not even my squad. I think Del knows something’s wrong, though.”

That didn’t surprise Rex. Del was a fantastic squad leader; he’d tried to promote the man more than once but Del had always declined, determined to stay with the other Teth survivors until the end.

“Sir,” Coric began slowly, recapturing Rex’s attention. “Why give this to me? Why not Lieutenant Janlee? I’m not even a surgeon, I’m just a field medic.”

Rex grimaced. In hindsight, he probably would have been safe entrusting it to Janlee - but he knew Coric better. “I needed someone I could trust,” he said. _And Kix isn’t here yet._

“I - okay,” Coric said slowly, rubbing his forehead. “I can see why. But I still don’t understand why you’d come to _me.”_

“Because -” Rex winced as he reached for Coric. “I trust you to do the right thing. Not what someone _tells_ you is the right thing.”

Coric stared at him, wide-eyed. “Sir -”

“There’s no room for error here,” Rex told him. “The Republic has enemies at the very heart of it and it would be the easiest thing in the galaxy for them to call _us_ the traitors if they find out what we know.”

“Okay.” Coric nodded. “Okay,” he repeated. “So…” Rex could see the gears turning in his head. “Who else knows, then? Commander Cody?”

“Most of it,” Rex confirmed. “I haven’t had the chance to fill him in on all the details yet.”

“You found out on Christophsis,” Coric said suddenly, regarding Rex more keenly. “That’s why you were… did Commander Tano tell you?”

“... something like that.” Despite the near-perfect cover Coric had just handed him on a platter, Rex couldn’t bring himself to give Fives’s achievements to anyone, even Ahsoka. If it hadn’t been for Fives, Ahsoka would have died aboard the _Retribution_ over Mandalore, and Rex… Rex would have joined the faceless ranks of the stormtroopers until he was killed; combat, execution, decommissioning… it would have all been the same to him with the chip in his head.

(And Maul would be dead, but there was a bright spot in every scenario.)

“Okay,” Coric said again. “So she knows. What about the rest of the Jedi?”

“No,” Rex said abruptly. “They don’t know. They can’t. We have to address this _ourselves.”_ The details were few and far between, but from what Rex had been able to piece together, the Jedi attempt on Palpatine’s life _had_ actually happened. So he had to delay that as long as he could, or risk Palpatine tipping his hand before they were ready.

Coric swallowed and nodded. “I’m with you, sir,” he said. “It’s just… a lot.”

Rex grimaced. “It is at that,” he agreed. “Fortunately, we’re not alone.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CT-7567 “Rex”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Codal Meltdown”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura” [offline], CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-1007 “Blackout”, CC-1010 “Fox” [offline]_

_Rex_ \- Hi

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Get back into bacta

 _Rex_ \- this is ahsoka actually

 _Wolffe_ \- Uh.

 _Blackout_ \- Sir?

 _Rex_ \- Rex is fine he’s just trapped in the medbay atm, so I modded a datapad and grabbed his access key to update you all

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Out of sheer curiosity, does rex Know about this

 _Rex_ \- of course he does??

 _Rex_ \- what do you take me for

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Just checking

 _Rex_ \- so what kind of distracted u thinking

 _Rex_ \- blackout you stole that stealth ship right

 _Blackout_ \- no

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Yes

 _Blackout_ \- cody Why

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Shes trustworthy

 _Wolffe_ \- did we not just have a conversation about not telling Jedi

 _Rex_ \- not to be That Chakaar but I actually found out before rex did

 _Rex_ \- long story

 _Wolffe_ \- …

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- can confirm I heard the story earlier

 _Blackout_ \- well kriff me i guess

 _Rex_ \- so, distraction? When and where and how much

 _Rex_ \- are we talking an explosion in the auxilary hangar, a faulty alarm…?

 _Wolffe_ \- Auxiliary, sir

 _Rex_ \- i said what i said

 _Blackout_ \- ghfgh

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- yeah you’re rex’s vod’ika all right

 _Blackout_ \- uh no need for any explosions sir 

_Blackout_ \- just need to clear folks away from the keelward docking bay

 _Rex_ \- can do

 _Rex_ \- will ping when safe

[CT-7567 is offline]

 _Wolffe_ \- … so that’s the baby jedi

 _Wolffe_ \- doesn’t seem very baby

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- she is much less baby than appearances suggest

 _Wolffe_ \- I still want one

 _Blackout_ \- we know

* * *

Very few people would call the air of Dathomir _clean._ The atmosphere was perpetually shrouded in red mist - the shroud of the Dark Side, some people called it. (Some people were fools.)

Maul breathed in the warm, humid air and couldn’t quash the thought of _home._

His body ached as he stepped forward, down the ramp of the old frigate and towards the Nightsister’s Enclave, but he kept walking (these were still _his_ flesh-and-blood legs, and he marveled at them). His mother was there.

He heard the whispers of the jungle around him as he walked; the Nightsisters wondering at the Nightbrother who would dare approach them unannounced.

“Halt,” came the harsh hiss.

Maul obeyed as the shapes of a dozen Nightsisters melted out of the mist, aiming their bows at his chest.

“What business do you have here, Brother?” the lead Nightsister asked, stepping forward. Thick black lines cut under her eyes and across the bridge of her nose, forming clean, bold lines across the lower half of her face. “We have not sent for any of your village.”

Maul clasped his hands behind his back. “I am here to see Mother Talzin.”

“Why?” the lead Nightsister demanded, tightening her grip on her blade. A chirodactyl shrieked in the distance.

“Because,” Maul said with exaggerated patience, “I have news.”

“That is not -” the lead Nightsister began, only to be interrupted by a second, much louder cry.

“Sister,” one of the other Nightsisters whispered. “Look.”

Maul did not look. The Nightsisters did.

“Gorgara,” the lead Nightsister breathed. “Come, Brother,” she said, snapping back to reality - just as well, Maul could have sliced her in half twice over by now. “Mother Talzin will speak to you.”

* * *

Blackout let out a long breath and cast a critical eye over his men. He had - or at least, he used to, he was pretty sure he was a deserter now - command over the entire 13th Reconnaissance Battalion, but Akk Squad, (first platoon, Chariot company) these nine men, they were _his boys._ Not the Republic’s, not the Jedi’s, his, through and through. Shadow, Mask, Escape, Due, Spider, Ice, Ghost, Candle - even Spark had volunteered for this mission without hesitation.

Speaking of Spark, the shiny was watching him from the seat next to him, fingers drumming nervously on the arms of the seat. “Everything all right, sir?”

Blackout leaned back in his seat, noticing the way the Akk boys tilted their heads to hear his answer. Ghost and Candle were at the helm, but he had no doubt they were also listening in. “Not sure,” he said slowly. “Unknown element at play. Spider, you have a secure ‘net connection?”

“Yessir.”

“Get me everything you can find about Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano.”

As Spider went to work, fingers flying over the terminal like the legs of his namesake, Shadow leaned over from his post at the sensors. “Jedi, sir?”

“Captain Rex adopted one,” Blackout muttered back. “She knows everything he does, but I’ve got my own reservations.” He still hadn’t heard from Mancy and he was starting to get nervous. His rank-and-file contacts were too tenuous to risk asking for a distraction. Apparently, his Jedi contacts were _not._

(Apparently, he had Jedi contacts. Or _a_ Jedi contact.)

“Might meet us at the airlock,” he added. “Might not.”

She did.

Ahsoka Tano was a short adolescent Togruta with underdeveloped lekku and distinctive facial markings. She was waiting for them with crossed arms and a raised brow.

“Blackout,” she greeted, her face easing into a smile. “Good to see you again.”

“Commander,” Blackout greeted.

They studied each other, measuring out any changes that had occurred since they last saw each other at the strategy session before Teth. She looked older, somehow, with fresh scrapes on her knees and elbows.

“So,” she said, breaking the silence. “Did you find anything?”

“Some things,” Blackout said cautiously. But Cody had said she was trustworthy, so… “Proof, for one.”

Tano let out a sigh of relief. “What about a way to detect the chips?” she asked. “They don’t show up on any brain scan I’ve seen.”

Blackout filed _that_ tidbit away for later. “Level five atomic brain scan,” he answered, holding out the datapad.

Her eyes flicked down to it, then up to him. She took it. “Okay,” she said, looking down at the ‘pad. “So you need access to a medbay.”

“It would be nice,” Mask puts in dryly. “Unless you’ve got another way to find the chip in our test dummy’s brain.”

Tano’s brows shot up. “Test dummy?”

Blackout cursed Mask, even though Tano would have found out anyway. “We’ve found ourselves a volunteer.” _However unwilling._ He was just lucky Cody hadn’t shoved him out the airlock when he’d been discovered. It’s what Blackout would have done. “Can you make that happen?”

Tano was silent.

“Let me talk to Rex,” she said eventually. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Blackout watched her leave, waiting until she had disappeared into the maintenance shafts to return to the stealth ship.

“She seems all right, sir,” Mask volunteered.

Blackout grunted and headed for the new, tenth member of Akk squad.

He leaned over their half-prisoner half-recruit, planting his hands on the arms of the chair. “It’s your lucky day, Slick,” he said softly. “You might be able to start making up for all those _vode_ you killed.”

Slick bared his teeth in a mirthless smile. “Wouldn’t miss it, _sir.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando’a Translations  
>  _chakaar_ \- bastard  
>  _vod’ika_ \- little sibling  
>  _vode_ \- brothers, sister, siblings


	26. Vod'ika

Mother Talzin steepled her fingers in front of her. “Tell me again, my son.”

Maul, who had just spent the past several hours pouring out everything he could remember about the past twenty years, growled.

Mother Talzin raised her brow. “Patience, my son,” she chided. “Tell me again of the fall of our clan.”

“Mother, I have told you everything I know twice now -”

“And I wish to hear it again.”

“I am here for my _brother,”_ Maul snapped, bristling. “Not to entertain you -”

He fell silent when Mother Talzin lifted her hand into the air.

“I will hear it,” she said, “again.”

* * *

Apparently Coric was in on the secret now; or at least, he was in on the important parts. That suited Ahsoka fine. She liked Coric.

“I have one ‘test dummy’,” she said, making air quotes with her fingers, “and ten possible patients. One of them is a medic who can perform the surgery, but they need access to a medbay.”

Coric made a sweeping gesture to the rest of the room. “Have at it, sir. Just stay out of Janlee’s way, I guess.”

Ahsoka’s mouth twitched upward. “They’re trying to stay under the radar, Coric. I understand Teth’s wounded need somewhere to rest.” There were only a couple left who were badly injured enough to remain in the medbay - Tau Squad’s mechanic, Stizits, who had tried to pull intel out of a downed dwarf spider while under fire; and Sergeant Hez of Rho Squad, who had been covering him when the detonator went off. Both of them were being kept asleep with sedatives. “But I was hoping you could give us a window to work with.”

“I can try,” Coric said slowly. “Do they have a second medic?”

Ahsoka shrugged helplessly. “I’d ask, but I think Blackout disliked me enough already. You,” she added, when Rex made an offended noise, “stay where you are.”

“Yes, _buir,”_ Rex said sarcastically. “What’s his complaint?”

Ahsoka waved him off with a thought of _later._ “Coric?”

“Uh…” Coric frowned. “Janlee’s in charge of the shifts, but we’ll be in hyperspace for a few hours tomorrow before reaching Coruscant. With only two beds, I can convince X’loy’a to drop his shift.”

“Sooner the better,” Rex rumbled. “What about tonight?”

Coric grimaced. “Janlee’s relieving me in twenty minutes.”

Rex raised an eyebrow in her direction. Ahsoka frowned, then blinked when the bond came to life with a press of - was that hope?

Her confusion must have bled through, because a flash of Janlee standing next to Coric came through next, projected with Rex’s customary loudness - his own communications were much more limited than Ahsoka’s (the pains of being Force-blind and stuck with a bond). Ahsoka rubbed her montral absently, considering.

“You think?” she asked.

Rex grunted. “That, or we’ll have to replace her. Can’t exactly avoid my own CMO.”

That _was_ a fair point. “Might start a mutiny if you did.” She dropped her hand. “Okay, we’ll bring Janlee in, then. Coric, any objections?”

Coric startled. “None, sir.”

“Okay.” Ahsoka rubbed her arms against the sudden gooseflesh. “Twenty minutes?” Coric nodded. “Okay. Mind giving me and Rex a minute?”

Coric saluted and promptly busied himself with Hez’s chart on the other side of the medbay.

“Good man,” Rex remarked. “What’s the problem, _vod’ika?”_

“Not sure,” Ahsoka admitted. “Could be a few things. Do you remember a Lieutenant Mancy? Commanded the 56th Regiment?”

Rex’s face went blank for a moment before he sighed in defeat and reached for his datapad. “Give me a minute.”

Ahsoka settled herself cross-legged at the foot of Rex’s bed as he scrolled through his personnel records, muttering to himself.

“Ah,” he said after a few moments. “Triangles on his armor?”

“That’s the one.”

Rex shrugged. “Not much besides the design,” he admitted. “Died on… Mimban, I think. One of the early battles after Teth.”

Ahsoka nodded. “Well, it might be worth getting to know him again. Aside from not saddling poor Denal with the entire legion next time you get called away, I’m pretty sure he threatened to mutiny if I got you killed. Or maybe just to kill me,” she added as an afterthought. “Plenty of accidents to go around, and all that.”

Rex’s face darkened. “I wouldn’t let -”

“I know, Rexter.” Ahsoka grinned tiredly at him. “Don’t bite his head off. I think he’s just looking out for you, against the weird new CO.”

Rex sighed. “You didn’t have problems like this before.”

“Yeah, well.” Ahsoka rested her chin on one hand. “Everyone keeps asking me how I know you. Bet it’s something to do with that. Incidentally, Blackout doesn’t like me, and I’d bet money it’s the same reason.”

“You don’t have any money,” Rex said absently. “Neither do I, while we’re at it.”

Ahsoka frowned. _“Osik._ You’re right. We’re both broke. Hey, how much do you remember about the bolo-ball games that happened around now?”

“Betting with insider knowledge is illegal,” Rex said dutifully.

“So?” Ahsoka shrugged. “Treason is expensive.”

* * *

“The Fanged God has a gift for you, my son,” Mother Talzin said softly.

Maul, who remembered what the Fanged God’s last gift had cost him, shivered. “I want nothing from him.”

“It is not a gift that can be refused,” Mother Talzin admonished. “We all sensed it when He perished at the hands of the Jedi. And now I sense that a fragment of him resides within _you.”_ She touched one long finger to his forehead. Her skin was cold.

A chirodactyl roared in the distance. Mother Talzin smiled. “And so do they. The Fanged God’s children sense his Champion.” She lowered her hand. “Destiny cannot be denied so easily, my son.”

The batlike creature perched on Mother Talzin’s shoulder chirruped and hopped onto Maul’s outstretched arm.

Maul looked down at the creature - a juvenile venateryx, if the markings were any indication. It blinked up at him with wide orange eyes, looking - for all the stars in the galaxy - as if it _trusted_ him.

It was so weak. So fragile, all hollow bones and delicate tissue. He could crush it one hand with barely any effort.

Instead, he allowed it to climb up his arm to perch on his shoulder. What did venateryxs eat, anyway? “I am going to the Nightbrothers’ village.”

He could feel Mother Talzin’s disapproval, but all she said was, “As you wish.”

* * *

Janlee took very little convincing.

“Never did like the longnecks,” she muttered, scowling at Blackout’s datapad. “What’s the plan, Captain?”

Rex smiled humorlessly. “First, we make sure the surgery actually _works,”_ he said. “Then we de-chip Blackout and his men. Then we figure out how to de-chip the rest of the GAR without the Chancellor finding out.”

“The Chancellor,” Janlee muttered, smoothing her hand over her braid. “That one’s… hard to believe. I trust you, sir,” she added, before Rex could say anything, “but I’ll admit, calling the Chancellor a Separatist was a test.”

Rex glanced at Ahsoka to see if she would correct that. When she didn’t, he let it be. Considering the execution of the Separatist Council and the destruction of so many of their worlds after the war ended, he severely doubted Palpatine was actually allied with them. More likely, in Rex’s mind, was that he was simply an opportunist, using the Separatist’s own agenda to advance his plot.

(But Janlee wasn’t being told everything, so she didn’t need to be corrected.)

“We should do the first surgeries now, if possible,” Rex said. “You have the supplies for that?”

Janlee nodded. “Yeah, we do. I can operate on the medic when he goes under,” she added. “Probably want to do him first after the test.” Her nose wrinkled, her hand going back to her braid. “Less chance of it going off in the middle of the surgery and causing _problems.”_

Rex blanched; he hadn’t considered that possibility. Judging by the look on Ahsoka’s face, she hadn’t either.

“I’ll get the men,” Ahsoka said, standing up. “Back in a bit.”

Janlee grunted out a “ma’am” without looking up, swiping between documents on the datapad. “Out of curiosity, how come _she’s_ the one Jedi who gets to know about this?”

Rex sighed. He had a feeling this was going to come up a lot. “She figured things out first. Explained the missing pieces to me.” Without Fives, they both would have died, but if Ahsoka had fled without uncovering the truth and risking her life to save him - could he be said to understand when his mind was not his own?

“Well,” Janlee said, “that’s as good a reason as any.”

* * *

Ahsoka slowed as she approached the keelward docking bay. The Force buzzed with tension; she slipped into the shadows of the maintenance shaft and crawled forward, listening intently for whatever was causing the air to thicken under her tongue.

“... can’t explain it.” That was Mancy’s voice. A glimpse through the grate confirmed it; the triangle pattern continued down the back of his chestplate. He was facing away from her, speaking to - with that helmet design, it could only be Blackout. “There’s no records of her service. Nothing’s even classified. As far as the Republic is concerned, she’s never left Coruscant before.”

“I know what the _official_ records say,” Blackout replied. “And I have other people for the unofficial ones. What does _she_ say?”

Mancy sighed. “She’s got special operations training,” he said, “or whatever the Jedi call it - Shadows. It would account for most of her behavior.”

Blackout tilted his head. “Most?”

Mancy shifted uncomfortably. “Sir, I… this is just speculation,” he said. “But what if she’s not a Jedi?”

_I’m no Jedi._

Ahsoka clenched her hands into fists and willed them to stop shaking.

“Explain.”

“The Captain’s been acting strangely since she arrived,” Mancy said in a rush. “There’s no way he could know her like she claims - the only time he’s left the legion since Geonosis is when he was recalled to Kamino for command training, when the legion was being restructured. ARC training is secretive, sure, but he’s recorded as _being there,_ so… why’s he so - so -”

“Attached?” Blackout suggested.

Mancy snorted. “Attached. Sure. My men on Christophsis thought he was going to _shoot_ the General because of her.”

Rex had been about to shoot Anakin because Anakin had betrayed him. Betrayed all of them, when he’d fallen. (She still didn’t know _why._ Had he been tortured into it, like the Inquisitors, or had he embraced the Darkness willingly?)

“I see.” There was an odd note in Blackout’s voice, one that Ahsoka recognized. Rex sounded the same way when he was putting the pieces of a puzzle together and not liking the result.

Blackout put a hand on Mancy’s shoulder. “I’ll take care of it,” he said. “You get back to your men.”

“Thank you, sir.” Mancy saluted and put his helmet on before striding down the corridor, back to the barracks.

Blackout’s comm beeped. He disappeared back into the docking bay, merging into the ship’s cloak like a shadow just as a patrol rounded the corner, white armor glinting dully in the low light. Ahsoka dropped down behind them as they passed, stealing towards the seemingly empty space where she knew Blackout and his ship were waiting.

She pressed her hand against the invisible hull. “Commander,” she called softly, “we’ve cleared the medbay for your use.”

“Understood,” came the murmured reply. “We know the way.”

* * *

Rex was not expecting _Slick_ to be Blackout’s ‘test dummy’.

“Captain Rex,” he sneered, as Blackout frog-marched him into the medbay. “Finally found a use for me, have you?”

Rex stared back at him flat-eyed, remembering the _last_ traitor he’d dealt with under his command.

_Net lay on the floor, black eyes wide, his headtresses - dark teal, more blue than green - spread out under his head like a mocking crown. His chest heaved, blood bubbling between his lips, the charred hole under his ribs still smoking. Rex’s hand shook as he lowered his blaster._

“You’re lucky,” he said evenly. “Commander Cody just arrested you. If you’d been in _my_ legion, I would have put you in front of a firing squad.”

Slick bared his teeth. “So much for Captain Rex’s famous code, eh?”

 _He grabbed weakly at Rex’s ankle as he stared up uncomprehendingly, as if he didn’t understand that everyone was_ dead, _that he had sold them to the Empire for slaughter. Rex kicked his hand away and looked down at the clink of plasteel on plasteel._

“You can be sedated with a nice, easy hypo,” Janlee informed him, strapping him to the operating table, “or you can be stunned with a blaster.”

“I’m cooperating, aren’t I?” Slick bit back.

 _Net was still wearing the bracer Rex had given him. The blue paint was chipped and weathered, but still clearly visible. Still clearly_ his.

Janlee stabbed the hypo into Slick’s neck.

_Rex’s hands were still shaking, but he didn’t fumble with the buckles as he reclaimed his armor. Net had broken that promise so thoroughly that there was nothing left of it._

He’d had enough of traitors.

“Rex.”

He flinched, but it was only Blackout, having moved across the medbay without Rex noticing. “Blackout.”

“At risk of repeating myself,” Blackout began, “I have questions.”

Rex gestured to the medbay bed he was currently occupying. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Blackout quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, I know.” He set his helmet on the foot of Rex’s bed, right where Ahsoka had been sitting. She was somewhere close by, he was sure, but if she was in the room she was hiding. “First question - who is Ahsoka Tano?”

Rex tipped his head back, considering Blackout through narrowed eyes. “Be more specific.”

“No,” Blackout said thoughtfully, “no, I don’t think I will.”

Oh, fantastic. He was fishing for a specific answer. “She’s my _vod’ika.”_

“She’s not a clone.”

“Good catch.”

Blackout shot Rex a look that might have been effective twenty-five years ago - well, from a certain point of view. “How’d she earn that title?”

Instead of answering, Rex leaned forward, clenching his jaw against the twinge of pain in his abdomen. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re really wondering, and I’ll see what I can tell you?”

Blackout bared his teeth. “Why don’t you answer the question, Rex’ika?”

Rex snorted at the nickname. _Little Rex._ Like he wasn’t more than three times Blackout’s age. “She’s an old friend.”

“Yeah.” Blackout leaned forward to match him, gaze sharp. “I thought you’d say that. She says the same thing, you know. Almost word-for-word. Funny how that happens. Especially because - here’s the kicker - you’ve been with the 501st since Geonosis. Only left for ARC training when the old commander ate his bucket. And I _know_ you didn’t get off Kamino before then.”

“And then there’s the fact,” Blackout continued, “that your _vod’ika_ doesn’t have a record at _all._ She’s never been off Coruscant. Not officially, not unofficially, not in the deep dark depths of rumor. Nothing. Not a peep. You know what that makes me think, Rex’ika?”

“Enlighten me.”

“It makes me think,” Blackout said deliberately, “that she’s messing with your head. And - _stay still,_ you _di’kut -”_

“Don’t you _dare,”_ Rex hissed, blood boiling. He twisted out of Blackout’s grip and slammed his elbow into Blackout’s brow ridge. “Don’t you kriffing _dare_ think that Ahsoka would - she’s not the karking _chips -”_

“Sithspit, when did you learn to hit that hard?” Blackout muttered, rubbing the spot where Rex had hit him. A trickle of blood seeped towards his eye. “Fine, sore point. But you tell _me,_ if Cody showed up with a shiny Jedi in tow with his personality turned on its head, you wouldn’t think something was going on?”

Rex glared at him. “What do you want?” he spat.

“I want an _explanation,”_ Blackout snapped back. “Convince me she’s not the problem here, Rex, because otherwise I see exactly one new factor here, and in my experience that puts the blame on _her.”_

“I -” _Damn it._ They needed Blackout on their side. Encryption specialties aside, Blackout’s scrutiny would put holes in any story they spun; he was too dangerous an enemy to make. He has to stop looking into it ( _one way or another,_ the thought comes unbidden.)

The smoking shell of the _Retribution_ looming over a dozen graves marked with charred helmets flashes through his mind.

Rex did not want to kill his brothers.

“Fine,” he growled, glaring at Blackout’s chestplate instead of looking him in the face. _“After_ you get your chip out, I’ll explain.”

Blackout stared at him for a few seconds. “Deal,” he said simply, and jammed his helmet back on his head.

“Surgery’s finished,” Janlee called out. “Chip’s out, and he’s not even dead.”

* * *

“Technically,” Janlee said, eyeing the whole of Akk Squad, plus Blackout and Slick, “you should all be under observation for the next twenty-four hours.”

“Not really an option,” Mask muttered.

“You’re a medic,” Janlee replied bluntly. “You start hallucinating, you’d better throw yourself out the airlock before you do any actual work.”

“What d’you take me for, an amateur?”

Blackout’s mouth quirked underneath his helmet. His head hurt like hell and his vision kept doubling and random intervals; he dreaded to think of what damage Mask could do if he tried to, say, do surgery under such conditions. He didn’t doubt the man would manage it, but it wouldn’t be pretty. “Shadow,” he called, “ take ‘em back. I’ll follow.”

Shadow saluted lazily and slung his shoulder around Spark, steering the rookie out of the medbay with practiced ease. The rest of the squad filed out after them - even Slick, who shot one last look over his shoulder before the medbay door slid closed behind him.

“You’re next,” Janlee said, pointing to Rex. “Soon as you’re done with bacta. Tomorrow. No doubt Bead will start rumors.”

Rex shrugged. “It is what it is.”

Blackout settled in at the foot of Rex’s bed, crowding Ahsoka to the floor _almost_ without meaning to. “Okay,” he said. “Talk.”

And Rex did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did make up the venateryx (the name means “winged hunter” in Latin, I believe), but the chirodactyl is an actual creature from Jedi: Fallen Order - it’s the species of the Gorgara boss. Look ‘em up, they’re huge. And neat. (I did briefly consider giving a baby one to Maul and then I decided ‘no, that’s a little too OP, what happens when it grows up?’ Hence the venateryx.)
> 
> Hez and Stizits are both canon! I believe they come from the Star Wars: The Clone Wars novelization, but it’s been about six million years since I put my List Of Canon Troopers together, so don’t quote me on that.
> 
> Net is… not canon. He’s also not a clone, so there’s that. More on him later :)
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _buir_ \- parent  
>  _vod’ika_ \- little sibling  
>  _osik_ \- shit  
>  _ate his bucket_ \- not Mando’a, but GAR slang for dying, specifically in combat  
>  _di’kut_ \- idiot


	27. To Remember Him By

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Racism, specifically anti-clone racism.

Blackout was silent for a long time after Rex finished talking.

“That’s…” He let out a long breath. “Not… what I was expecting.”

Rex watched Blackout carefully. He’d always been hard to read; Rex couldn’t tell whether Blackout actually _believed_ him or not.

Blackout dragged a hand down his face. “What happened to the others?” he asked, fixing his gaze onto the opposite wall.

Rex startled. “What?”

Blackout waved a hand. “The others. The _burc’ye._ Cody’s batch.”

 _Cody’s batch._ Fox, Bly, and Wolffe - CCs came in batches of four, not five. “Bly didn’t survive his surgery,” Rex answered, starting with the easiest. “Wolffe… Wolffe was with me until Hoth”

_There’s a hole right through his organic eye. Snow is already starting to collect on his face._

“And Fox?” Blackout prompted.

Rex felt his face shutter. “I don’t know.”

Blackout frowned at him. “Rex, those four practically _raised you._ You expect me to believe that you just… don’t know?”

Rex clenched his jaw and looked away. 

“Rex.” Blackout’s voice softened. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”

_The mission… the nightmares… they’re finally… over._

“It’s nothing,” Rex said. “I just don’t know what happened to Fox.”

Frustration flashed across Blackout’s face. “You’ve just told me you traveled _back in time,”_ he said impatiently, “but this is where you draw the line?”

 _Two of his men collapsed onto the_ Retribution _’s_ _floor with smoking holes in their chests and he wanted to_ scream.

 _“Yes,”_ Rex bit out. “Leave it be, Blackout.”

_Hanin didn’t care that Net was a traitor, she only cared that her brother was dead._

Blackout studied Rex warily. “All right. Just… tell me one thing,” he said. “Was Ahsoka Tano involved?”

_“She’s not coming back, Rex.”_

“No,” Rex said. “She was already gone.”

Blackout nodded and leaned back. “Okay,” he said softly. “That’s what I wanted to know.” He sighed, tapping Rex’s foot familiarly. “Whatever it is… I’m sorry none of us were there.”

Rex slumped back against the pillow. “Not your fault,” he said dully, staring up at the ceiling. “You were dead.”

_No last words, no body, no armor to remember him by, just three letters on a report - KIA._

Blackout dropped his gaze. “I…” He rubbed his face. “Damn it. _Damn it._ I hope your _vod’ike_ don’t inherit your stubborn streak.”

Rex stared up at the medbay’s ceiling. “Just…” he sighed. “Nevermind.”

“Get some sleep, _vod’ika,”_ Blackout said quietly, resting a hand on Rex’s shoulder. “You’re not alone anymore.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-1007 “Blackout”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Codal Meltdown”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura” [offline], CC-3636 “Wolffe” [offline], CT-7567 “Rex” [offline], CC-1010 “Fox” [offline]_

_Blackout_ \- @Codal Meltdown i have spoken to rex and can i just say

 _Blackout_ \- what the kriff

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Oh That

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- I take it that you have thoughts and opinions

 _Blackout_ \- you believe him?

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Yes

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Do you?

 _Blackout_ \- i mean

 _Blackout_ \- yes

 _Blackout_ \- but also no?

 _Blackout_ \- rex’ika is,,, gods

 _Blackout_ \- he was alone

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Yeah

 _Blackout_ \- and the whole thing that happened

 _Blackout_ \- in practice it hangs together right but if you step back and look at it its just

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Yeah

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- So what are you doing to do?

 _Blackout_ \- you know im with u

 _Blackout_ \- guess ill start patching the holes

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Excellent

 _Blackout_ \- by the time yall reach coruscnt there will be a neat little breadcrumb trail confirming his whole cover story

 _Blackout_ \- just need a suitable jedi to throw under the cruiser

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Krell

 _Blackout_ \- oh PERFECT

* * *

It took two days of hyperspace travel to reach Coruscant. Rex, thankfully, was allowed out of the medbay after Janlee dumped him in bacta for a second round, causing him to miss Cody’s brief visit to the _Resolute_ to pick up his general. Oh, Cody stopped by the medbay, sure, but there wasn’t a lot of talking to be done when you were suspended in a bacta tank for six hours, bored out of your skull.

Even more thankfully, Rex was able to corner Janlee to talk logistics.

“Not accounting for supplies, I trust a surgeon for… call it five of those surgeries a day,” she said, chewing on a nail. “In a perfect galaxy we could do more, but most of this is going to happen while we’ve got other casualties.” She hummed, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully. “Two hundred and fifty-six surgeons in the legion, including me. That’s - what -”

“Twelve hundred and eighty surgeries a day, if they do nothing else.” Rex frowned at his datapad. “Seven days to de-chip the whole legion. But we don’t have the supplies for that.”

“No we do _not,”_ Janlee agreed spiritedly. “We have enough supplies for… two hundred of these before we need to restock, assuming nobody comes back from battle with a brain bleed or excessive swelling.” She sighed. “We usually leave stuff like this to the medical stations. Better equipped for any nasty side effects.”

“But medical stations mean Kaminoans.” Rex sighed. “So, two hundred surgeries per restock means forty-six restocks to de-chip the Legion. We get restocked every six weeks, which leaves us at -” he paused, doing the math in his head. “Five years to de-chip the whole Legion.”

Janlee blanched. “I don’t like those numbers.”

“Neither do I,” Rex agreed. “And that’s not even counting the turnover from arriving shinies. So we need more supplies.”

Janlee shrugged. “I can’t help you there, sir. But I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

“What about the black market?” Ahsoka suggested later, peering at his datapad with wide eyes. “I could probably dig up some contacts, get in touch with a seller or two.”

“And pay with what credits?” Rex pointed out. “Black market medical supplies are _expensive._ It’s not like we could trade them our excess either. The Republic would notice stock going missing eventually.”

Ahsoka frowned thoughtfully. “Scavenging, maybe? Plenty of abandoned hospitals in the galaxy, but I don’t think there’s enough to make a difference.”

“Not for the kind of supplies we’d need,” Rex said wearily. “So we’re back to the black market.”

“We need _credits,”_ Ahsoka muttered. “And bolo-ball bets aren’t going to cut it.”

Rex snorted. “I can’t believe you’re actually doing that.”

Ahsoka spread her hands, a faint grin spreading across her face. “Desperate times, right?”

“Desperate times,” Rex echoed, then sighed. “I need to have a basic plan for Cody by the time we get to Coruscant.” He waved a hand at her. “I’ll figure it out. Better get to your training before Skywalker misses you.”

* * *

_Chat opened - Spooky Scary Skeletons_

_Welcome, CC-1007 “Blackout”_

_Other Participants - CC-1993 “Jet”, CC-2289 “Bay”, CC-3113 “Craft”_

_Jet_ \- what i want 2 know is how they got past security

 _Bay_ \- in2 the LABS

 _Bay_ \- we got little bros cookin there

 _Craft_ \- thank the hods they nly took out a kaminoan

 _Blackout_ \- wait what happened whats goin on

 _Blackout_ \- also Bay ur in charge of the solyc lads now

 _Bay_ \- ??

 _Jet_ \- where u been?

 _Craft_ \- did u not get the briefing on th breakin on kamino

 _Blackout_ \- uhhhh

 _Blackout_ \- okay listen.

 _Jet_ \- eye-

 _Bay_ \- you did NOT

 _Blackout_ \- in my defense i had a really good reason

 _Craft_ \- you killed NALA SE????

 _Blackout_ \- she had it coming! Also she was abt to activate my chip so i was Kind Of out of options

 _Jet_ \- what

 _Bay_ \- WAT

 _Blackout_ \- yeah yeah hold onto yr shebs imma explain

* * *

Ahsoka felt light-headed as she climbed the steps of the Jedi Temple, trailing behind Anakin and Master Kenobi.

She jumped when Anakin turned to her - “Everything okay, Snips?” - and tried to smile.

“I’m fine,” she lied. “It’s just weird being back. Feels like a whole other life.”

She ducked away from Anakin’s hand and sprinted up the last few steps. “Come on!” she called, fidgeting to conceal her trembling. “Don’t wanna keep the Council waiting!”

“That’s never stopped him before,” Master Kenobi grumbled, earning a laugh from Anakin.

The doors to the Room of a Thousand Fountains opened and a swarm of younglings spilled into the hall, giggling and chasing each other. “Hi, Master Obi-Wan!” one of them called, quickly echoed by the others. “Hi, Master Skywalker!”

Ahsoka shuddered, turning away from the green warmth of the Temple’s central room and racing further down the halls.

She hadn’t been here since… _since,_ had only been close enough to see the rising towers of smoke and hear Master Kenobi’s message. She and Rex had thought it was his _last_ message, but apparently - according to Rex - he’d survived and gone into hiding on Tatooine, guarding Anakin’s son as he grew up.

Face after face flashed in her vision as she moved through the Temple halls towards the Council chambers. Dead masters, padawans, younglings still in the creche - archivists and diplomats and healers -

_I’ve seen a galaxy where you all die._

A warm presence settled across her shoulders like a blanket. She started and turned to see Anakin offering a small smile.

She blinked, hard, and turned away.

* * *

Ajata Mepour (AJ, to her friends) could not be described as relaxed, easygoing, or especially organized. So it was not a huge surprise to anyone in the office when she showed up five minutes late with her coat in disarray and the smell of a backfired speeder clinging to her peach skin. Her lekku twitched with anxiety as she hustled to her desk, dropped her bag on the floor, and let out a groan as she read her new assignment.

“I can’t believe Killesa is giving me the _Coruscant Guard,”_ she groused ten minutes later to her fellow paralegals, adding an extra espresso shot to her caf.

Votani, a delicate-faced Rodian, shuddered. “Working surrounded by clones all day? No thanks. Have you seen them on the news? They’re _creepy._ And they never talk.”

“I heard they can’t,” Dhau contributed, leaning against the wall. “The Kaminoans engineered them to have a hive mind, like the Geonosians?” The quarran wiggled his beard tentacles at the pair of them. “But they took out the vocal cords.”

“Seems like a design oversight,” Ajata muttered, but Votani shuddered again.

“The Kaminoans creep me out too,” she complained, taking a sip of her tea. “Those freaky necks. And their _eyes.”_

Dhau scoffed. “Everything creeps you out.”

“You know I’m right!” Votani argued. “Nothing that comes off that planet is natural. If _I_ got that assignment, I’d just quit. Feygla had the right idea.”

Ajata sighed, trying not to think about why she’d been given a job that made Feygla, a full-time lawyer of the firm, quit. “Really feeling the love here, guys.”

“Aw, c’mon, you’ll do fine,” Dhau assured her. “Just remember: they’re supposed to serve the Republic, and you’re a citizen of the Republic, so _technically,_ you’re in charge. Don’t let ‘em intimidate you. Even if they, I dunno, steal kids or something.”

Ajata eyed him suspiciously, ignoring the discomfort building in her stomach. “Is this the same speech you gave me about dealing with the Jedi?”

“I - no?”

“Yes,” Votani chimed in.

“Aw, c’mon - it’s _good advice,_ all right -”

Ajata rolled her eyes and downed her coffee in one shot. She was going to need it.

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CT-7567 “Rex”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Codal Meltdown”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-1007 “Blackout”, CC-1010 “Fox”_

_Codal Meltdown_ \- Okay so we need to meet

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Who’s on Coruscant rn?

 _Rex_ \- question: ur name?

 _Codal Meltdown_ \- Right

[ _Codal Meltdown_ has changed their name to _Cody_ ]

 _Fox_ \- I’m available

 _Fox_ \- Theoretically

 _Cody_ \- Theoretically?

 _Fox_ \- :) I Hate My Job

 _Cody_ \- Ah valid

 _Mr. Secura_ \- you okay, Fox?

 _Fox_ \- do I sound okay

 _Mr. Secura_ \- :(

 _Mr. Secura_ \- also I’m not on Coruscant! But I can holo in safely

 _Wolffe_ \- Im here

 _Wolffe_ \- we’re deploying tomorrow though

 _Cody_ \- Noted

 _Rex_ \- you know im here

 _Blackout_ \- and u know im not

 _Blackout_ \- too busy running the SS Crimes

 _Rex_ \- is that seriously what u named it

 _Blackout_ \- yes

 _Fox_ \- That… actually made me laugh

 _Blackout_ \- see? Worth it

 _Rex_ \- doubt

* * *

The smell of smoke had almost dissipated by the time Ajata reached the Coruscant garrison. She took a deep breath, straightened her blazer, and stepped inside.

 _I’m here to take over the caseload for Killesa & Gyn, _ she recited as she walked down the corridor, her sensible bootheels clicking loudly against the floor. _I’m here to take over the caseload for Killesa & Gyn. _

_I’m here to take over the caseload for Killesa & Gyn, _ she told herself, waiting in line behind two humans and a bith, Republic ID and her workplace access card firmly in her hand. _I’m here to take over the caseload for Killesa & Gyn - _

“I’m supposed to take the caseload over for Killesa & Gyn?” _Damn it._

The clone sitting behind the desk - it wasn’t really a desk, though, it was a whole _thing_ of metal and transparisteel up to the ceiling with guards armed with electrostaffs flanking it - didn’t laugh at her. “ID, please.”

 _Oh,_ she thought. _They’re human._

Then she immediately felt very silly and nearly dropped her Republic ID in her rush to cover it up. Of course the clones were human. She’d seen the Kaminoan holos the Senate had put out when the war had started - they were nigh-inescapable (and frankly, annoying) - and the firm had made everyone watch a primer on dealing with the Guard when they’d started contracting with the Senate.

The clone returned her ID cards and issued her a _third_ one before directing her to legal, which turned out to be a cramped room the size of a storage closet that was nonetheless home to a fellow twi’lek and two clones sitting at separate desks.

Ajata smiled awkwardly in greeting and scuttled to the unoccupied desk, depositing her things. She logged onto her terminal and immediately groaned.

_Property Damage - Prosecution (63)_

She clicked on the first file, expecting damage from blasterfire at worst and egregious graffiti at best. What she found instead was a corpse in broken red-and-white armor with his head caved in.

Ajata clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her cry of shock. For a moment, she was frozen - horrified that something like that could happen on the upper levels of Coruscant (she had studied _property rights_ not criminal law) -

It was a misfile, of course. It must have been intended for the other twi’lek. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and closed the file. “Excuse me,” she said, “trooper? Ah, I believe some of these were misfiled.”

The clone nearest to her stood up and walked over to her desk. She glanced at his face when he took his helmet off; he looked so _normal._ Not at all like something that had come out of a lab.

“This one, in particular,” she said, turning back to the screen. She didn’t reopen the file. “I haven’t checked the others yet, but they’re labeled property damage, but they look more like… um… murder?”

“Our apologies, ma’am.” His voice was quiet and mild. “Could you give me the name of the victim? I’ll refile it right away.”

“Um, yes, sure.” Ajata shifted forward, scrunching her face up to avoid looking at the horrible picture again as she re-opened the file, scanning the text for anything that looked like… “I’m not seeing a name… does CT-3593 mean anything to you?”

The other clone flinched.

“Yes ma’am,” said the clone standing next to her. “Apologies for the confusion. That is indeed a property damage case.”

“But…” Ajata faltered. “But I mean, that’s murder, right? That’s clearly a - a person -”

The clone shifted uncomfortably. “Technically, ma’am, only citizens of the Republic can be victims of murder.”

“But -” Ajata stared at him, uncomprehending, before turning back to her screen. “Are - are all of these cases - like this?”

“Most likely, ma’am.”

“That’s -” Illegal. Unethical. Horrifying. _I need to fix this. How do I fix this?_

Ajata closed the case file again and pressed her hands against the desk. She took a deep breath, counted to twelve, and turned around, offering her hand to shake.

“I don’t believe I introduced myself,” she said. “My name is AJ. I work at Killesa & Gyn as a paralegal. What’s your name?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I have you here, have some rambling about clone family structures: the core unit of a clone family is the batchmates, the unit in which a clone is trained on Kamino (CTs are trained in batches of five, CCs in batches of four). From there, it’s a web of adoptions and mentorships that form loose dynasties within the GAR: close friendships among equals lead to circles of burc’ye, especially among officers. Older/higher ranking clones will adopt younger ones by declaring them vod’ika, which firmly cements the older clone as the younger’s mentor and ties their names together - the successes and failures of one will reflect on the other, personality traits and values are often passed on - even armor designs can be passed down this way.
> 
> These relationships become more serious and important the higher ranking the parties get - a sergeant adopting a private would cause much less of a splash than a commander adopting a lieutenant. It’s very rare for a clone to have more than one ori’vod, but common to have more than one vod’ika. (Rex is an exception here.) The vod’ike of officers are more likely to be tapped for promotion, although they still have to show the necessary qualifications in terms of skill and experience.
> 
> The “quadrant” system within the GAR is very similar on a larger scale. The four Marshall Commanders - Cody, Bacara, Nex, and Burner - each “rule” over a fourth of the GAR, each with different specialties. The quadrants have no bearing on actual military structure, only on clone politics.
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _burc’ye_ \- friends; inner circle (in GAR slang)  
>  _vod’ika_ \- little sibling  
>  _Sol’yc_ \- first; in the GAR, specifically the “first quadrant” - clones under the informal command of Marshall Commander Cody.  
>  _vode_ \- siblings  
>  _vod’ike_ \- little siblings  
>  _ori’vod_ \- older sibling


	28. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild TWs - Anakin grabs Padme’s wrist to keep her from leaving and gets rightfully told off for it. Rex has to deal with sensory overload for a bit.

Cody tapped Rex’s bracer. “Hey,” he said softly. “You okay?”

Rex glanced towards the Jedi Temple, blinking away the memories of black smoke rising in thick columns. “The last time I was here,” he said carefully, “I saw the Temple from… about this distance. Different angle,” he added, bumping his shoulder against Cody’s. “The Temple had been sacked. You could see the smoke from - I don’t know how far away. Kilometers, at least. Ahsoka wanted to get closer, look for survivors, but… we couldn’t. Too risky. Too many patrols.”

“Battle droids?”

Rex glanced at him. “Troopers,” he corrected. “Couldn’t fight them. Wouldn’t.”

Cody sighed and knocked his shoulder against Rex’s in reassurance. “Sounds like hell.”

“Pretty much,” Rex agreed. He turned to face Cody, putting his back to the skyline. “So, where’s this room you’ve managed to clear out?”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far -”

Rex rolled his eyes, shoulders tensing at the pang of anxiety from the bond. “Fine, where’s the _storage closet -_ Commander,” he greeted, answering his commlink before it beeped. “Is everything all right, sir?”

Ahsoka’s voice carried an undercurrent of unhappiness. “Captain. The Jedi Council wants you to give your report on what happened in the Chrelythiumn system in person.”

“Understood, sir,” Rex responded crisply, tamping down on his irritation. “I’ll be there shortly.” He hung up, watching a muscle in Cody’s jaw jump. “Sorry, _vod.”_

Cody clapped a hand on Rex’s shoulder. “It’s all right,” he assured him. “Anything that happens, I’ll fill you in.” His grip on Rex’s shoulder tightened as Cody leaned in, pressing his forehead to Rex’s own. “Be careful,” he muttered. “I know it’s just the Jedi, but last time you ran off you came back in a bacta tank.”

Rex snorted, pretending his chest didn’t still ache from the Son’s lightning. “I’ve got Ahsoka with me. I’ll be fine.”

Cody’s laugh as he let Rex go was brittle. “Go on. Council’s waiting for you.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-1007 “Blackout”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Codal Meltdown”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CT-7567 “Rex”, CC-1010 “Fox”_

_Blackout_ \- yo @Rex ur cover is back up

 _Blackout_ \- npthin in the Official RecordsTM is different but theres some tasty breadcrumbs of deleted files spread around for any particuparly enterprising souls

 _Rex_ \- particuparly

 _Blackout_ \- see if i do any favors for u again

 _Rex_ \- :)

 _Rex_ \- thanks, Blackout

 _Blackout_ \- ofc. Krells a schutta anyway he deserves it

 _Rex_ \- BOY DOES HE

* * *

Rex had never actually been _inside_ the Temple before. He stared openly behind his helmet, taking in the soaring columns and sweeping staircases as Ahsoka led him along, grinning at his reaction.

The Temple was beautiful. It was warm and old and lived-in; the halls thrummed with something vital and _alive_ that Kamino never had. It reminded him of the base on Hoth, in a way - it had the same aura of tired camaraderie and hope, the close-knit feel of an entire community living out of each other’s pockets, but one that had done so for thousands of years instead of less than a month.

Rex shivered at the memories of that battle.

“I’ll show you the Room of a Thousand Fountains later,” Ahsoka promised as they passed a door that led to a room full of water laughter and green sunlight. “But I think we’ve kept the Council waiting too long as it is.”

“Ah.” Rex hoped his nerves didn’t show. “Right.”

Apparently his nerves _did_ show, because Ahsoka’s smile softened and a wave of soothing warmth washed over him. “It’ll be okay, Rex,” she assured him, voice low. “They’re on our side. They just… can’t know everything yet.”

Rex offered her a smile in return. “I know, kid,” he assured her. “Come on.”

Ahsoka pressed herself into his side on the ride up to the Council chambers. “I’m fine,” she said before he could ask. “It’s just weird. Nice to know you’re here too.”

Rex touched her arm. “Always.”

The doors slid open. Rex blinked.

The view from here was _spectacular._

He followed Ahsoka to the center of the room, eyes flicking around the room. Skywalker was waiting for them there, greeting them both with an easy grin.

“There you are, Rex,” he said teasingly. “I was starting to wonder if Ahsoka had gotten you both lost.”

“Regardless,” General Kenobi intervened, a slight smile on his face, “you’re here now.”

“Indeed.” General Windu looked much as Rex remembered him - stern and solemn - but his face had fewer lines. “Captain Rex, we’ve heard the reports of the others who were on Mortis. We’d like to hear your account.”

Rex took off his helmet, following protocol, before addressing the assembled Generals. “Yes, sir,” he said, dipping his head. “I’m… not sure what to say, sirs. Everything was included in my report.”

“Indeed,” General Gallia said. “You reported the return of the Sith Lord from ten years ago and claimed he was under the influence of the Son. We are curious what led you to such a conclusion?”

“Well, sirs,” Rex began slowly, ordering his thoughts into something that the Council would accept. “I read the report of General Kenobi’s duel with Maul on Naboo. The General dealt a serious injury to Maul, and from what I understand, Sith are driven by emotions like anger, hate, or revenge. However, when General Kenobi was captured by the Son,” he nodded apologetically to the General, who looked pained, but offered Rex a smile anyway, “I saw Maul working _with_ General Kenobi, instead of against him. General Skywalker’s interactions with them were more extensive than my own,” he added, gesturing to Skywalker, “but I had the opportunity to read his report, which solidified my conclusions.”

General Mundi steepled his fingers together. “Very impressive,” he said, smiling softly. “The Council agrees with your conclusion. It seems that Maul was not operating under his own will. Thank you, Captain, we wished to be sure of Maul’s state of mind before deciding on a course of action.”

General Yoda tapped his gimer stick on the floor. “One more question for you, the council has,” he said, peering at Rex and Ahsoka keenly. “Both of you here to answer it, we wished. Told us, Master Kenobi has, of the bond between you. See it for myself, I now do.”

Rex tensed, quashing down on the sting of betrayal. General Kenobi had never promised to keep any secrets for them.

“Strange, it is,” General Yoda continued, “for such a bond to form. Strong, it is, yes. Rare it is, for the Force to link two beings so.” He hummed. “A gift, it is. But careful, you must be,” he warned, shaking his head. “Tempting it can be, to dive too deeply. Aware of _all_ life, a Jedi must be.”

* * *

“It’s bantha poodoo is what it is!” AJ hissed, gesticulating wildly even though the call was voice-only. “They’re just - they’re just _people_ and they don’t get justice for their friends like everyone else! Jek and Rhys lost their sergeant and I’m supposed to file a _property damage claim.”_

Irym’s sigh came through in a rush of static. “I am _so aware_ of this, trust me,” she said mournfully. “I tried to run a story on it when the war started, but my boss slapped me with the ‘what are you, a Separatist’ so I’m stuck doing fluff pieces as penance.” She snorted. “Maybe by the time the war ends I’ll be allowed to report on it.”

“Quit,” AJ suggested, only half-joking.

“Alas, I need to pay rent and buy food.” Irym sighed again, more melodramatically this time. “Oh, speaking of food - my lunch break is almost over. Call you after work?”

AJ groaned. “Aw, c’mon, mine _just_ started! Who am I going to talk to?”

“Talk to the clones?” Irym suggested, like it was the most obvious solution in the world. “You just got done telling me about how people-y they are.”

“I _would,_ but apparently they don’t take lunch breaks,” AJ muttered, stabbing a cube of nerf with her fork. “Which is a labor violation _at the very least.”_ Jek had actually looked _embarrassed_ when she’d asked. Embarrassed! For needing food!

“Tyunda’s _teeth,”_ Irym growled. “I mean, hell, document that. It’s gotta come in handy sometime, right?”

AJ paused. “You think?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Irym’s voice was turning speculative. “You said that one lawyer, Feygla, quit after being assigned to the Guard, right? Wasn’t she a civil rights lawyer back in her heyday? Maybe she can help.”

* * *

Obi-Wan remained with the Council as Anakin, Rex, and Ahsoka left. Ahsoka glanced over her shoulder as the door slid shut behind them, catching Master Plo’s gaze.

“You okay?” Rex murmured.

“Fine,” Ahsoka answered quickly.

Anakin grinned down at her. “You’ll get used to the Council soon enough, Snips. They’re wise Masters, but they’re just people like you and me.”

Ahsoka nodded and didn’t make eye contact.

They were just past the sparring rings when heavy footsteps thudded against the floor behind them and Rex froze.

Ahsoka whipped around, eyes scanning for the threat. Her gaze landed on a massive besalisk ambling towards them, twin saberstaffs folded in half at his hips.

“Master Krell!” Anakin called, a broad grin on his face. Ahsoka’s stomach went cold - instinctively, she moved to put herself between Krell and Rex, who was slowly turning to face the fallen Master.

“Skywalker,” Krell greeted. “It’s good to see you back on Coruscant.”

“Likewise,” Anakin responded. “Congratulations on your victory on Raydonia.” He sobered. “I was sorry to hear your battalion took so many casualties.”

Krell rumbled. “The price of victory,” he said, crossing his top pair of arms over his chest. “Nothing more.”

Anakin heaved a sigh. “I know,” he said, bowing his head. “Still, I hope this war ends quickly. Too many lives are lost with every day it drags on.”

“Indeed,” Krell said smoothly. “Far too many Jedi are dying on the front lines of this war. But we must not allow our fear of defeat prevent us from achieving victory.”

“Of course,” Anakin agreed quickly, his smile returning. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” He cleared his throat. “As good as it is to see you, Master… was there something you needed? I really should get back to my men.”

Krell smiled blandly. “Your Padawan has made an impression. Reports say she handled herself… _impressively_ on Teth,” he said. “It’s rare to see a student of Jar’Kai these days. Especially such a young Padawan. I admit, I was hoping to see her skills for myself.”

Anakin wavered. “Well, Ahsoka’s skills are impressive for a Padawan, but we’re only here until morning and I wouldn’t want to -”

“Come now, Skywalker,” Krell chided. “One spar. I promise to send her back to you in one piece.” He chuckled. “Who knows? She might learn something that saves her life.”

“... very well,” Anakin said, shrugging. “When you put it like that, I can hardly refuse. C’mon, Rex. Ahsoka, meet us back on the _Resolute_ when you’re done, all right?”

“Yes, Master,” Ahsoka said quickly, bowing her head.

“Sir -” Rex started, resisting Anakin’s attempt to pull him away. His voice rose with alarm as his eyes snapped to hers. The beginnings of panic dug at the bond, sharp and painful like broken glass.

 _Get out of here before you shoot someone._ Ahsoka smiled reassuringly. “I’ll be fine, Rex,” she promised. “It’s just a spar.”

Rex stumbled as Anakin pulled him away. Their voices vanished as they hurried away, both men clearly unhappy.

Ahsoka turned back to Krell and composed herself. “Shall we, Master?”

Krell’s smile was devoid of mirth.

* * *

Padmé was trying very hard to concentrate on her work, but she simply couldn’t stay focused.

Anakin was on Coruscant.

He was, of course, very busy - they both were - but he always made time to see her. Even when there _was_ no time.

Right as she had that thought, the door of her apartment slid open. Padmé looked up, her heart squeezing with anticipation.

Her husband stepped through the door. There were dark circles under his eyes, but he smiled when he saw her, lighting up the whole room. Padmé rushed to meet him; he swept her off her feet and spun her in a circle, strong arms wrapped around her waist.

But something was wrong. When he pulled back to look at her, his smile was frayed at the edges and there was a wildness in his eyes that made her falter.

“Anakin,” Padmé whispered, threading her fingers through his hair. He hadn’t been using that shampoo he liked, the stuff that smelled like the fruit trees that grew around her home in the Lake Country. “Ani, what’s wrong?”

Anakin shuddered and pulled her close, burying his face in the crook of her neck. Spots of wetness appeared on her shoulder.

Padmé held her husband as his facade - _the Hero with no Fear,_ the Republic called him - slipped and faltered, sobs breaking through his ever-tenuous control. “It’s okay,” she whispered, pressing her lips to his temple. “It’s okay, Ani. I’m here.”

Gradually, his sobs subsided. He pulled away and turned his back to her, wiping at his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said thickly. “I didn’t mean to -”

 _“Ani.”_ Padmé laid her hand on his arm, fondness softening any reproach in her voice. “I’m your wife. Whatever’s wrong, I _want_ to help you.”

“What’s wrong,” Anakin echoed bitterly. “I don’t even _know_ what’s wrong. I -” He shook his head, crossing his arms. “I barely know what’s happening in my own legion. Rex doesn’t trust me, my _Padawan_ doesn’t trust me, and Obi-Wan -” He cut himself off, running his flesh hand down his face. “I don’t - I don’t know what to do.”

Padmé frowned. “Anakin, of _course_ Rex trusts you -”

“No, he _doesn’t,”_ Anakin snapped, turning back to her, blue eyes wide with distress. “Every time I get near him, he - he tenses up like he’s about to be _interrogated,_ I can _feel_ him pulling away from me. I don’t even know what I _did!”_

“Anakin!” Padmé held up her hand and took a deep breath as Anakin subsided, curling in on himself. “Okay,” she said gently, drawing him over to the couch and tucking herself up beside him. “One problem at a time.” She hesitated, looking up at the line of his jaw. “What… what happened to Obi-Wan?”

Anakin flinched, tucking his chin into his chest. “He Fell.”

Padme’s hand flew to her mouth. Horror welled up in her; how could _Obi-Wan,_ of all people, fall to the Dark Side, how could he do that to _Anakin -_

“He’s okay now,” Anakin continued, words tumbling out of him like a waterfall. “It wasn’t his fault, he didn’t have a choice, the Son _did something_ to him and he tried to kill me but it doesn’t matter because it wasn’t really him and he was so sorry and he didn’t - he didn’t mean any of it -”

“Oh, Anakin,” Padmé said softly, wrapping her arms around him. “What did he say?”

The story came in bursts. Padmé kept silent, allowing Anakin to speak at his own pace, etching out the terrible planet of the Ones and the horrible things the Son had made Obi-Wan do.

(Deep within her, a rage ignited. Slavery was abhorrent but _this,_ twisting the mind until it had no choice but to serve and serve _joyfully -_ it turned the marrow of her bones into kindling.)

“Do you still trust him?” she asked when Anakin was finished.

Anakin blinked down at her. “Of course I do,” he said immediately, taking her hand, hope shining from him like a beacon. “Padmé - he _knows about us.”_

It was such a sudden change that the words didn’t register until a moment later. “Oh _no,”_ she breathed. She sprang to her feet. “I must speak to him, see if I can persuade him to keep quiet - Anakin, let _go -”_

“Padmé - Padmé, wait!” Anakin stared up at her with wide eyes. “It’s okay! He already promised he wouldn’t tell the Council, he’s known for _ages_ already.”

Padmé froze. “What?”

“He promised not to tell anyone,” Anakin whispers, eyes shining. “Padmé, he’s on _our side. Really_ on our side.”

“I… oh,” she said faintly. “I see.” She looked down at her wrist. “Let me go, Anakin.”

Anakin released her immediately, looking stricken.

Padmé let her hand fall. “Don’t grab me,” she said firmly, folding her hands in front of her. “Unless you’re pulling me out of the way of a blaster bolt or a thermal detonator.” Rabé had tried to uncover why Padmé disliked being touched when Padmé was still a Queen, but truthfully - there was no grand secret. She just didn’t like being pulled about, and if she couldn’t tell her _husband_ that, then who could she tell?

Anakin nodded. “I won’t,” he said sincerely. “I promise. I’m sorry.”

Padmé smiled. “Thank you, Anakin,” she said softly, sitting down next to him. He leaned towards her, she met him halfway, tangling them together until they lay in a warm, sleepy heap on the couch.

They stayed like that for a long while, letting the galaxy pass them by as they bask in each other’s company.

* * *

Rex’s skin _itched._

He was paying too much attention to Ahsoka and not enough to everything else; Skywalker was asking questions right up until they passed Senator Amidala’s apartment, because Skywalker is many things but not subtle. The sound of clashing lightsabers buzzed in the back of his head, drowning out the hum of traffic as he hurried back to the _Resolute._

Somehow, he managed to get back to his room without running into anything or punching anyone, which was a small miracle. He slammed the door shut behind him - didn’t lock it, there _wasn’t_ a lock - and ripped off his helmet, gulping down recycled air.

He _should_ pull back, throw up his shields and block it out, but it was _Krell, Force, what was she thinking -_ she was going to come back to the _Resolute_ in _pieces,_ he was sure of it, if she came back at all -

_‘I’m sorry Rex’ followed by burningsearingscreaming - hollow - nothing -_

Rex stripped his armor off to the waist, letting the familiar, methodical movements take up most of his brain. He was alone for now, he’d already eaten today and dealing with the chaos of the mess was going to hurt more than skipping his second meal. That left water - he reached for his canteen and drained it dry.

The headache receded a little. He could still feel warm metal in his palms and sparring mats under his feet.

His rifle - the one he’d wielded against the Empire, long after most of his brothers were gone, when he’d stopped being Rex and started being Jaig - was in the corner, carefully propped up. He picked up, checked the safety and energy packs (safety on, set to stun, unloaded - good, just like he remembered) and set about taking it apart.

Rex measured his breathing, turning each piece over in his hands as he took the rifle apart. It had been… how many years?

Twelve. Twelve years. Force, the _rifle_ had been dead longer than every one of his brothers had been alive.

It also hadn’t been _cleaned_ in as many years, apparently. Rex wrinkled his nose and pulled out his cleaning kit. It was truly amazing that it hadn’t blown up in his face on Mortis.

He was halfway through digging buildup out of the Heter valve when the door chimed. Rex jerked, cursing as he nearly spilled the cleaning solvent at his feet. “Come in.”

Mancy stepped inside, followed by Grezal, Stokal, and Tracyn. The 501st’s First Lieutenants - each in charge of an entire regiment, over two thousand troopers.

Rex had no idea who they were. He only knew their names because he’d gone over his personnel records on the way back to Coruscant. Now that he saw them, armor designs bright and freshly-cleaned, he recalled Grezal dying at Skytop Station. Stokal had been sucked out of a hull breach over Quell, and Tracyn… Tracyn…

Also sucked out of a hull breach. Fantastic.

“Something wrong, boys?” Rex asked, measuring his voice carefully. He didn’t stop cleaning his rifle. The back of his head was still clattering loudly - _speeder traffic, bright lights reflecting off a thousand windows._ She must be done with the spar, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull away. Focusing on cleaning his blaster helped.

“Depends on you, sir,” Grezal answered bluntly, moving into Rex’s space like he owned it. The others were more polite, spreading around the edges of the room. Tracyn was hovering by the door, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. “You’ve been acting strange lately. Consider us… concerned.”

Rex glanced towards the door, wondering if he could make it out of the room. All four men were between him and the exit (and didn’t _that_ put him on edge) but if Rex kicked his desk chair towards Grezal -

He’d make it out, but if he ran they’d get more suspicious. He had to soothe the worries of his subordinates, or they’d be kriffed when the Legion got thrown back into active duty. Besides, Rex didn’t want to hurt them.

“Concerned,” he repeated, returning his attention to the Heter valve.

“You put a _grade two_ in charge of the Legion,” Mancy said, shooting Grezal a look Rex couldn’t decipher. “Even though all four of us were _right here.”_

 _Ah._ “I did do that, didn’t I?” Rex murmured. Truth be told, he’d been in a bit of a rush when picking out his (he deliberately didn’t think _successor_ ) second-in-command. Ahsoka’s fears over Mortis, his anxiety over the chips and the sheer enormity of the task before him - _just have to save all your brothers from the Sith Lord who owns you all_ \- had taken up most of his processing power. Essentially, he’d run down the list of officers in the Legion and picked the first one whose name stood out.

Denal would have been shipped out to ARC training if he’d survived Cad Bane. He _should_ have been shipped out earlier, but Rex had held him back to lead Carnivore Battalion on Felucia. Before Jesse there had been Fives, and before Fives - there had been Denal.

He made a mental note to send Denal for ARC training _early_ this time. After Rodia, at the latest.

“You did,” Grezal agreed, when no explanation was forthcoming. “And we’re all eager to hear your reasoning.”

Rex glanced at him. “And where _exactly_ are you going with this, Lieutenant?”

Grezal shrugged. “Just some brotherly concern, sir. It’s obvious that _something_ has you worried. The whole Legion knows it.”

Rex looked to Mancy, raising an eyebrow. “Do they, now?” He went to work cleaning the barrel without breaking eye contact. “And what do people _outside_ the Legion have to say?”

Mancy swallowed.

“Sir,” Grezal said, in what was likely _supposed_ to be a ‘you’re-talking-to-me-not-him’ tone, “why did you put Denal in charge of the Legion?”

Rex switched his gaze to Grezal, not missing the way Mancy visibly sagged in relief. “You might not like the answer, Lieutenant,” he said, keeping his voice mild.

“That’s all right, sir,” Grezal countered.

“Is it.” Rex frowned at the cleaning rag. It was _filthy._ He flipped it over and started cleaning the barrel with the clean side. “I needed someone I could trust.”

Grezal inhaled sharply. Tracyn made a wounded noise. “You don’t trust us, sir?”

“No, trooper, I don’t.”

Stokal’s jaw worked furiously. Mancy tilted his head back. “Why not?” he challenged. “We’ve always followed your orders, sir. We look out for our brothers.”

Rex was unable to comment on how true that was, considering he _didn’t remember them._ “Maybe you do,” he said neutrally, letting the dirty cleaning cloth drop to the floor and reaching for a cotton swab. “But that’s not enough.” He glanced up, meeting each soldier’s gaze. “You want to earn my trust? Prove to me you’re not just going through the motions the Kaminoans _programmed_ into you.”

Anger flared in Grezal’s face. Mancy froze. Stokal’s face twisted into a snarl. Tracyn looked like he’d been slapped. A low hiss cut through the air; Rex didn’t take his eyes off of Mancy until it faded.

“Prove it,” he repeated, holding Mancy’s gaze. _Please. Give me a reason to trust you._

“Dismissed,” Rex said, returning his attention to the last strokes of the cotton swab. “Mancy, tell Blackout that if he wants to spy on my Legion, he should pick a meeting place where Commander Tano can’t hear him.”

Mancy paled. “Sir -”

 _“Dismissed,_ soldier.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CT-7567 “Rex”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Cody”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe” [offline], CC-1007 “Blackout”, CC-1010 “Foxed Up” [offline]_

_Blackout_ \- rex ur scaring mancy

 _Rex_ \- haha yeah

 _Rex_ \- listen you know my reasons

 _Blackout_ \- yes But

 _Blackout_ \- one day i am going to stop doing damage control for ur rampant paranoia.

 _Blackout_ \- stop being mean to my contacts :(

 _Rex_ \- no <3

 _Rex_ \- did i miss anything

 _Cody_ \- Wolffe had to get back to the 104th

 _Cody_ \- But weve got a plan

 _Cody_ \- Meet in your barrack?

 _Rex_ \- done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I think I’m close to understanding exactly how the hell the GAR is organized, canon throws something else at me and I just have to take a couple minutes to cry. Apparently the 501st battalions have _names._
> 
> Also, Anakin continues his tradition of agreeing with the bad guys. Here’s hoping there’s no ‘Anakin grabs Padmé’ bits in TCW that I forgot about, or that scene is going to be a lot harsher than I intended.
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _vod_ \- sibling
> 
> If you want to see Mancy's POV on that last scene, check out the latest chapter of Living in Normal Time [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26108440/chapters/67630136).


	29. Contraband

Ahsoka cursed her inability to read the Mando’a alphabet.

Mandalorians didn’t use aurebesh like the rest of the galaxy, no, they used their _own_ alphabet and Ahsoka was just going to have to deal with it. After several minutes of trying to puzzle it out on her own based on the very little she’d learned with Bo-Katan, she finally conceded defeat and pulled out her datapad, intent on scouring the holonet for a functional translation program.

“You lost, _ad’ika?”_

Startled, Ahsoka whipped around cursing herself for not paying attention. A Mandalorian in sand-gold _beskar’gam_ stood at the end of the grocery isle, helmet tucked under his arm. He was short - almost as short as her - with short gray hair and a tanned, weathered face; if he wasn’t human, he was very close to it.

She straightened up, squaring her shoulders and meeting his gaze. “No,” she said firmly. “I’m looking for something for my friends.” She eyed the shattergun on his hip; it would be more unusual for a Mandalorian to go unarmed, but Verpine weaponry wasn’t exactly standard fare.

“Friends, huh?” The Mandalorian grunted. _“Me'copaani jetii ti burc'ye? O’r shakraan?”_

Ahsoka bristled. _“Kai’tome par ner verde,”_ she snapped. “My boys deserve _pi klichu klin.”_ Specifically, the brand of fizzy soda that had almost certainly changed its labels (or _not_ changed its labels?) since Ahsoka had last seen it. “I know what I’m _looking_ for. I just can’t _read the labels.”_

The Mandalorian grunted. “Who’s teaching you _Mando’a?”_

“My brother.” Ahsoka gestured to the drinks in front of her. “Are you going to help me read these, or are you going to keep asking _di’kutla_ questions?”

He snorted and stepped forward, adjusting his bucket under his arm. “Sure, _ad’ika._ What’s your name?”

“Ahsoka Tano.” She turned back to the shelves. “Which one of these says _Ori’hett?_ Rex likes the _Janad-Nuhur_ flavor best.”

“Kal Skirata.” He reached over and tapped a case of soda. “These are the ones you want. Try the Uj too.”

Ahsoka beamed at him.

* * *

When Cody reached Rex’s quarters, he found Rex curled up at the foot of his bunk, staring at a tiny cloth doll.

 _“Vod?”_ he called softly.

Rex blinked. “Cody,” he rasped. His eyes were bloodshot. “You’re here.”

Cody sat down next to him. “You okay?”

“Fine, I’m fine.” Rex stowed the trinket back into his kit. “Sorry. Bad day.” He set the rifle aside and swung his legs over the edge of the mattress, pressing himself against Cody and resting his chin on Cody’s shoulder. “So. What did you figure out?”

Cody pressed his forehead against Rex’s for a moment before turning back to the datapad he’d brought. “Your numbers were helpful,” he said, pulling up the list of math. “We applied the formula to the rest of the GAR, factoring in different deployment patterns and resupply rates. With one million troopers deployed -”

“Three million.”

Cody blinked. “What?”

“It’s three million,” Rex said roughly. “By the end of the war.”

Cody shut his eyes. _“Osik._ Okay, three million. So without supplies, that’s eight to ten days with unlimited supplies to de-chip everyone. Problem is, if the Chancellor gets wind of it -”

“- he can use the still-chipped troopers to stop the medics,” Rex finished dully. “Yeah. I know.” He peered at the datapad as Cody entered the new numbers. “And with supplies… four and a half years?”

“Yeah.” Cody shook his head. “We’re trying to figure out ways to bolster our supply, but so far we’ve come up empty.” He ticked off his fingers as he listed the ideas out - hijacking a medical station (Blackout), black market suppliers (Fox), stealing from the Separatists (Wolffe), stealing from the black market (Bly) -

“Won’t work,” Rex said. “The black market might be our best bet, actually. We just need money.”

“We don’t exactly get paid,” Cody reminded him. “Where are you gonna get money for supplies like that?”

Rex hummed thoughtfully. “There are plenty of abandoned hospitals in the Outer Rim,” he began. “They won’t have the supplies we need, but they _will_ have abandoned bacta tanks. Rip some of those out, set up somewhere - I know a few places that might work - and we can start running a bootleg bacta operation. The Kaminoan strain will go for its weight in credits on the black market - more if you can mix the right spices into it, or if you can get a decent scientist to help refine the stuff.” He looked up, blinking at Cody. “What?”

Cody rubbed a hand over his face. “Nothing, nothing,” he muttered, trying very hard not to think about why Rex knew these things. “Keep going. What’s that you were saying about spice?”

“Eh.” Rex plucked the datapad out of Cody’s hands. “Ahsoka probably remembers better than I do, but there was a strain of bacta that had trace amounts of glitterstim in it, supposed to heal nerve damage. There was one with a mix of painkillers and amphetamines in it too, _very_ popular with the Mandalorians - Cody?”

“‘M _fine,”_ Cody muttered, having fully buried his head in his hands. “My favorite little brother is a smuggler. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.”

Rex snorted. “Cody, the Rebellion used to smuggle bacta to worlds being cut off by the Empire. I picked up some things.”

That was… somewhat better. “Sure.” Cody took the datapad back. “Okay. Get me a list of those places you were talking about and I’ll send it to Blackout. Hopefully that’ll solve our money problem.” He hesitated, glancing at Rex. “There’s one more thing. You’re not going to like it.”

“I don’t like any of this,” Rex muttered. “What is it?”

Cody took a deep breath. “You said the orders came down the chain of command,” he started. “It didn’t go straight through to the shinies.”

Rex stiffened.

“So we’re de-chipping the higher ranks first.”

“No.”

Cody grimaced. “Rex, listen -”

 _“No.”_ Rex pulled away, fists clenched. “How could you even -”

 _“Rex,”_ Cody snapped. “If we cut off the order at the source, our men won’t fall under the influence -”

“I’m not fighting my men again!” Rex’s voice cracked. “I can’t. I _won’t._ You can’t ask me to -” He faltered, curling in on himself. “I won’t.”

Cody reached out wordlessly and pulled his _vod’ika_ close. Rex all but collapsed against him, trembling, and buried his face in the crook of Cody’s neck.

“Mandalore?” Cody murmured. Rex nodded. Cody sighed, holding Rex tighter. “It’s not going to happen again,” he promised. “Okay? It’s not gonna be just you anymore. You’ve got me.”

“I had you before,” Rex whispered. “Then I took your chip out and you _died.”_

Cody pressed his forehead against Rex’s. “I am not going to die,” he said fiercely. _“You_ are not going to die. We’re going to get these karking chips out of our heads, we’re going to save our men, and we’re going to shoot the Chancellor full of blaster bolts. _Tayli'bac?”_

Rex swallowed hard, still gripping Cody like he thought he would disappear if he let go. “What if we can’t trust them?” he asked. “What if they take it to Skywalker or - or High Command? We’d be court-martialed, our men would all be mindless before we could blink -”

The door opened. Rex jerked back and turned away, wiping furiously at his eyes as Cody prepared himself to murder whoever came through that door.

A booted foot pushed inside a small basket of… were those fruits? “Anselmi kelpfruits,” Ahsoka announced, her voice drifting into the room. “Fresh and also on sale. And a can of _Janad._ All yours.”

The door slid shut, leaving the… _kelpfruit_ sitting on the floor next to two cans of something Cody didn’t know enough Mando’a to read.

Cody sighed. “Hungry, _vod?”_

Rex slumped back on the bed. “Yeah, okay.”

* * *

Ahsoka tiptoed through the barracks, scanning for the men of Beta and Theta squads. She was _pretty_ sure she knew where Beta squad bunked, but it would be embarrassing if she got it wrong.

At least the barracks were mostly empty. Only a few men were on duty, but those who weren’t were clustered around the rec areas, taking advantage of Coruscant’s holonet.

 _Mostly_ empty. Not completely empty.

“Commander!” Attie snapped to attention as soon as he saw her. Behind him, Coric scrambled off of his bunk, dark circles evident under his eyes. “Is everything all right?”

Ahsoka grinned. “At ease, men,” she said, hefting her bag of prizes and ignoring the painful twinge in her shoulder. “I brought snacks.”

Attie’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that… contraband, sir?”

“Is it?” Ahsoka did not actually care. “Well, I already dropped some of it off with Rex, so there’s no reason for him to confiscate it.” She held the bag out. “Want some?” When they still hesitated, she softened. “I’m not ordering you to take them, you know.”

“Well…” Attie inched forward. “If you’re sure, sir.”

Ahsoka laughed and handed him the bag. “Here you are, trooper. I bought enough for Beta and Theta both, so don’t drink it all at once.”

“You’d better call Lunn,” Coric said, sitting back down on his bunk. “They’ll be pissed if they miss out on food.”

 _“You_ can call them then,” Attie muttered, extricating a can from the bag. “Uhh… so, fun fact, Commander, none of us can actually _read_ Mando’a -”

“Neither can I,” Ahsoka admitted. “I had to ask for help. The brand is _Ori’hett -”_

“Explosion?” Attie squawked. “There’s _explosion drinks?”_

Ahsoka laughed. “It’s fizzy - that’s the spicy flavor you’re holding there, I got some of the sweet ones too.” She moved over to Coric’ bunk and perched carefully at the foot of it. “You okay?”

“Fine, sir.” Coric pressed a few more keys on his datapad before he looked up at her. “Actually, I was wondering -” He lowered his voice, glancing at Attie, who was entirely engrossed with his can of soda, “- do we have a plan for the…?”

“Rex and Cody are working on it,” Ahsoka promised. “Blackout too.”

Coric relaxed. “Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Okay. Sorry, it’s just -”

“A lot.” Ahsoka patted his arm. “I know, Coric. It’s okay.”

Beta squad filtered in at that point, led by an eager Lunn who immediately snatched an Uj out of Attie’s hands.

“It’s _fizzy,”_ X’loy’a said delightedly, holding his can with both hands like he was afraid it might break. “Sergeant Del, have you tried yours yet?”

“Yeah, c’mon Sarge,” Ayar chimed in. “It’s good!”

“This is contraband,” Del muttered, opening his can and taking a sip. He blinked several times, licking his lips slowly.

Sergeant Catch chuckled. “Not bad, eh?”

Del scowled. “Shut up.” He took a deeper swig, batting Catch’s hands away.

Attie cackled. “Oh! Sir!” He turned to Ahsoka. “When you said you’d teach us Togruti, were you serious, or…?”

Ahsoka blinked. She’d - completely forgotten about that, actually. “Oh, yeah, sure thing.” She reached for her datapad - _ow,_ _my ribs are very bruised_ \- and grimaced as she straightened up.

“You okay, sir?” Coric asked, frowning.

“I’m fine,” Ahsoka assured him. “I got roped into a sparring match at the Temple with one of the masters.” She shuddered theatrically, earning a few sympathetic chuckles - but it had been a truly sobering experience to realize she was no match for Krell in a duel. “Okay, let’s see… _flentir̀_ is hello, but if you just want to say hi, it’s shortened to _flen.”_ She grinned a little as Attie repeated it carefully. “The _r_ is always rolled in Togruti. Like a purring akul,” she added, remembering what she’d been told as she was learning it herself.

“What about goodbye, sir?” X’loy’a asked. Ridge leaned against him, then ruined the gesture by attempting to steal his drink.

Ahsoka hummed. “Well,” she said, “there’s a few different ways, depending on what you’re trying to say. If you’re just saying bye, it’s _kr̀enkr̀ol.”_ She paused, allowing X’loy’a to try it out before she continued. “But if it’s more significant, you say _kominkir̀ klin._ Good hunting.”

 _“Kominkir̀ klin,”_ Del muttered, frowning at his hands.

Ahsoka offered him a half-smile. “The traditional response is _kominkir̀ nan,_ best hunting.” She glanced around at them all, eyes lingering on Del and Ridge (buried next to each other, squadmates until the end). “There’s… one other way. For people you’ll never see again.”

Immediately, the mood sobered. X’loy’a went very quiet, leaning into Ridge’s shoulder. Catch and Del looked grim.

 _“Yisekholin al minkir̀in,”_ Ahsoka said, pronouncing each syllable carefully. “Rest and hunt.”

“ _Yisekholin al minkir̀in,”_ X’loy’a echoed. Ridge muttered the words to himself, letting his eyes slide shut. Zeer tapped him on the knee and got a pensive hum in response.

“Hunting’s important to Togruta, then,” Del surmised, pulling the attention away from the two shinies. “If it’s in the greetings and the farewells.”

Ahsoka nodded, straightening up. “Very. Most settlements on Shili are small, so the hunters of each village are the primary source of food - and everyone is trained to hunt. Tracking down and killing an akul on your own is one of the greatest achievements possible.” She tapped her headdress. “That’s where I got these.”

Catch blinked. “I thought you hadn’t left the Temple before sir?”

“Let me guess, Lieutenant Mancy’s words?” When Catch nodded sheepishly, she chuckled. “Well, it wouldn’t show on my record. I was still a youngling, so it wasn’t considered an assignment - more like a field trip.” A three-month, grueling field trip. There had been a lot of dirt and sleepless nights and long stretches of boring nothingness, punctuated by bursts of action. (Still nothing compared to the war.) “It was - rewarding. I brought the carcass back to the village I’d been staying in with Master Ti. It fed the whole place for weeks.”

Silence settled over the bunk as the clones digested this. Then Lunn piped up.

“Hey, Commander? What’s the word for _shebs?”_

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CT-7567 “Rex”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Cody”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe” [offline], CC-1007 “Blackout”, CC-1010 “Foxed Up”_

\--

[CC-2224 has blocked CC-1010]

 _Cody_ \- So foxs shiny new SOPs for senate assignments are bust

 _Cody_ \- And also the cg cant get dechipped until were Ready so guess what hes getting left out of the loop

[CC-2224 has unblocked CC-1010]

 _Cody_ \- @Foxed Up whats the last message you can read?

 _Foxed Up_ \- You and Rex making plans to meet

 _Cody_ \- Cool it works

 _Cody_ \- Thank you @Blackout

 _Blackout_ \- <3

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Fox, are you okay?

 _Foxed Up_ \- Physically? Yes. Emotionally? No.

 _Foxed Up_ \- I tried to record everything through my helmet and when I went to review the files they were gone.

 _Mr. Secura_ \- … concerning

 _Foxed Up_ \- So apparently, chipped me retains knowledge from real me.

 _Foxed Up_ \- Which I hate with a burning passion.

 _Mr. Secura_ \- y i k e s

 _Foxed Up_ \- No mysterious pains and-or injuries however so that’s a good sign

 _Cody_ \- ...does that NORMALLY happen??

 _Foxed Up_ \- Once in a blue moon I’ll wind up shot and not know how it happened,

 _Foxed Up_ \- or like, electrical burns? Very strange.

 _Foxed Up_ \- But typically? No.

 _Blackout_ \- wow i. Hate that, actually

 _Cody_ \- SO DO I

[CC-3636 has logged on]

 _Wolffe_ \- okay we’re actually deploying early bc the fleet we were SUPPOSED to be RVing with just got wiped

 _Wolffe_ \- so I will be of little to no help

 _Rex_ \- wait where are you deploying to

 _Wolffe_ \- Abregado system

 _Wolffe_ \- gtg

[CC-3636 has logged off]

 _Rex_ \- WHAT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I do support Kal facing consequences this fic is _not_ focused on him so I’m just quietly ignoring all the nasty implications/subtext/actual text in the RepComm novels and going with "morally grey dad who adopts anyone he crosses paths with."
> 
> So the idea for bootleg bacta/bacta smuggling actually comes from [this tumblr post](https://melonmochiii.tumblr.com/post/190991028871/bathtub-bacta) and everything about the _shakraan_ Ahsoka finds herself in comes from [_this_ tumblr post](https://silvergryphon.tumblr.com/post/626741341374791680/diaryofawriter-shadowmaat).
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _beskar’gam_ \- armor made from _beskar,_ or Mandalorian iron  
>  _Me’copaani jetii ti burc'ye?_ \- What does a Jedi want with friends?  
>  _O’r shakraan?_ \- in a _shakraan,_ or Mandalorian grocery store  
>  _Kai’tome par ner verde_ \- food for my soldiers  
>  _ori’hett_ \- literally translated means “explosion”, is also a popular soda brand  
>  _janad-nuhur_ \- spicy amusement, a popular flavor of Ori’hett soda  
>  _uj_ \- derived from uj’alayi or honeycake; a popular flavor of Ori’hett soda  
>  _di’kutla_ \- useless, worthless  
>  _vod_ \- sibling  
>  _vod’ika_ \- little sibling  
>  _tayli'bac_ \- understand?
> 
> (NOTE - I recently came across [this tumblr blog](https://mandowords.tumblr.com/) with a much more expansive Mando’a dictionary than anything else I’ve found, including some of their own constructed words/phrases/grammar rules. If you can’t find any of the Mando’a in this fic from official sources, it’s almost certainly from their Total Guide.)
> 
> Togruti Translations  
>  _pi klichu klin_ \- good treats; usually high in sugar and fat and easy to eat on the go  
>  _flentir̀_ \- hello, greetings  
>  _flen_ \- hi  
>  _kr̀enkr̀ol_ \- good-bye  
>  _kominkir̀ klin_ \- good hunting  
>  _kominkir̀ nan_ \- best hunting  
>  _yisekholin al minkir̀in_ \- rest and hunt; traditional farewell for the departed


	30. Malevolence

Eight.

Eight survivors of  _ Malevolence. _ For all their foreknowledge, Ahsoka had only managed to save two lifepods.

The surviving clones - Sinker, Boost, Trickster, Fault, Cash, and Cable - were clustered together at one end of the Torrent barracks, all crammed into the same bunk or spread over the floor next to it. They were a mass of limbs and torsos, all entangled so thoroughly that if Rex didn’t know better, he’d think they would never get up. No clone was alone.

Except for Wolffe.

Rex crossed the distance between them and placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Come on,  _ vod,” _ he murmured. “You need rest.”

Wolffe didn’t move from his seat on the opposite bunk, staring at his men. “I’m fine.”

“No, you aren’t.” Rex knew what he was feeling. The instinct to protect whoever was left was overpowering -  _ after Teth, after Umbara, after Mandalore _ \- but if you didn’t let the grief break through, you’d break down. “Trust me.”

Wolffe shook his head minutely. “Can’t sleep.”

“Thought you might say that,” Rex admitted, tugging on Wolffe’s shoulder. “C’mon,  _ Kaded’ika,” _ he said, using the old nickname that Wolffe hadn’t heard yet. “You’re not going to help them. Not like this.”

Wolffe made a small, strangled noise in his throat as Rex pulled him to his feet. “My men -”

“They’re safe,” Rex told him, holding him steady.

“They were safe on the  _ Triumphant,” _ Wolffe bit out, drawing in a ragged breath. “Rex -”

“They’re safe,” Rex repeated, drawing Wolffe closer. “Wolffe, look at me.”

Slowly, Wolffe tore his eyes away from his men to look at Rex, eyes -  _ both brown, no scar, he looked so young _ \- wide and haunted with bone-deep anguish.

“They’re safe,” Rex repeated once more. “I promise you, they’re safe.”

“You can’t promise -”

“I can,” Rex said firmly. They hadn’t been attacked last time - and now the  _ Twilight _ hadn’t been detected as she’d fled the system. Wolffe could  _ breathe. _ “They’re safe,  _ vod. _ You’re safe.”

Wolffe swallowed hard, desperately searching Rex’s face for - something.

Rex caught him when his knees buckled and lowered him to the bunk. “You’re safe,” he murmured, running his fingers through Wolffe’s hair. “You’re okay.”

Wolffe buried his face in the crook of Rex’s neck. Silent sobs wracked his frame, his tears soaking through the fabric of Rex’s blacks. Rex tucked Wolffe’s head under his chin and let his brother fall apart.

He couldn’t say how much time had passed when the doors of the barracks slid open to admit General Plo Koon.  Torrent Company stiffened as one, several rising to salute only to falter when General Plo bowed slightly and headed straight for the bunk where Wolffe had finally fallen asleep using Rex as a pillow.

“General,” Rex greeted softly, still running his fingers through Wolffe’s hair.

“Captain Rex,” General Plo greeted, matching his tone. He sat on the floor, back to the wall between the two bunks. “Thank you for taking care of Commander Wolffe. I would have been here sooner, but your medics are… quite strict.”

Rex felt a faint smile cross his face. “Coric, sir?”

“Lieutenant Janlee, in fact.” Rex got the impression that General Plo was doing… whatever the Kel Dor equivalent of smiling was under his mask. “She is a remarkable young woman. Quite forceful.”

Rex held back a snort. “That sounds like her, sir.”

“Indeed.” General Plo leaned his head against the way. “I must be honest, Captain. I had intended to ask you some things, but… I believe my curiosity can wait. If it is not an imposition, I would like to meditate with my men for a time.”

“Of course, General.” Rex carefully extricated himself from Wolffe’s grasp. “I’ll leave you to it, sir.”

“Thank you, Captain.” General Plo settled into the familiar cross-legged meditation pose. “I am glad Wolffe has such a brother as you.”

Rex held back a smile as he stood. He’d forgotten just how much General Plo loved the clones under his command - as  _ people, _ not soldiers. “Thank you, sir.” He hesitated at the foot of the bunks. “For what it’s worth, sir… I’m sorry we couldn’t save more of them.”

“It is worth a great deal,” General Plo said kindly. “Do not blame yourself, Captain. Without your warning, I do not think any of us would have survived.”

Rex winced. “I’m sure you would have found a way.” He leaned over to run his fingers through Wolffe’s hair one final time before stepping away, leaving the General to watch over his troops.

* * *

_ Chat opened - this is an intervention _

_ Welcome, CT-7567 “Rex” _

_ Other Participants - CC-2224 “Cody”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe” [offline], CC-1007 “Blackout”, CC-1010 “Foxed Up” [offline] _

_ Rex _ \- 104th is out

_ Rex _ \- wolffe is with me

_ Cody _ \- Shab. Full wipe?

_ Rex _ \- eight survivors including Wolffe and General Plo

_ Rex _ \- all onboard the Resolute

_ Mr. Secura _ \- Oh no

_ Blackout _ \- what happened?

_ Rex _ \- cruiser crusher w/ ion cannons

_ Blackout _ \- osik

_ Cody _ \- Osik

_ Mr. Secura _ \- Shab

_ Mr. Secura _ \- How’s Wolffe?

_ Rex _ \- finally asleep

_ Cody _ \- Understandable

_ Cody _ \- Blackout?

_ Blackout _ \- cant help you

_ Blackout _ \- following rexs leads in the outer rim

_ Rex _ \- ur closer anyway cody

_ Cody _ \- Sigh yes true

_ Cody _ \- Guess i have to put up with your general now :/

_ Rex _ \- its an exercise in self-control

_ Cody _ \- :////

* * *

Broadside saw her approaching first. “Sir!” he called, raising a hand in greeting. “Everything all right?”

Ahsoka waved back. “Just fine, Broadside,” she said, stepping closer and nodded to Matchstick. “I’ll be watching General Skywalker’s back when we fly.” She grinned at Broadside. “Sorry for stealing your spot.”

“Eh, no one can hit anything when the General’s flying anyway,” Broadside said easily. “Besides, that means Lygan here won’t dent up my bird -”

“She’s  _ our _ bird,  _ di’kut.” _ Lygan was a hair slimmer than his brothers with a truly impressive mohawk. “And don’t insult my flying!”

Click snickered. “Yeah, sir, don’t piss off your gunner before we fly out -”

“Like you take your own advice,” Clack growled, pulling Click into a headlock. Click squawked, elbowing his twin in the ribs as the two devolved into roughhousing.

Matchstick snickered. “Don’t mind them, sir,” he said, leaning forward from his perch on the edge of the cockpit. “We’ll be ready when the General calls.”

Ahsoka smiled up at him. “I know you will, Matchstick.”

“Speaking of,” Broadside interrupted, smiling slightly as Lygan leaned against him, “the General just showed up. Better make your way over, Commander.”

“Probably,” Ahsoka agreed. She glanced over her shoulder, blinking at the flash of her tunic - she still wasn’t used to wearing red again, or  _ sleeves _ \- in her peripheral vision. “Good talking to you. And good luck.”

Lygan grinned. “You too, Commander.”

Ahsoka offered them a last smile in farewell and slipped away, making her way across the hangar to Anakin’s ship. “Anakin,” she greeted, swinging into the gunnery dome with ease.

“There you are.” Anakin smiled down at her. “You okay, Snips? Nervous?”

“Only a little.” She drummed her fingers on the seat. Frustration boiled suddenly in her gut; it made  _ sense _ that Anakin didn’t want her flying, not without having the chance to test her first - but she knew she could do it. And she knew his plan was  _ wrong. _ “Don’t you think the ion cannons would be better targets? The  _ Malevolence _ had all those turrets along the run to the bridge.”

Anakin nodded. “It’s a good point, Ahsoka, but Shadow squadron are some of the best. Besides, taking out the bridge won’t just stop the  _ Malevolence, _ it’ll take out Grievous and anyone else in command.”

“I  _ know,” _ Ahsoka muttered, crossing her arms. “It’s just - even Master Plo thinks this is a bad idea.”  _ Because it is, because the Shadow pilots are good but nobody is  _ that _ good. _

_ Except for you. _

“Have a little faith, Ahsoka,” Anakin chided. “You heard Matchstick. They can do it.”

“They’ve never been up against the  _ Malevolence _ before,” Ahsoka argued. “They’re measuring their effectiveness against Separatist cruiser, not a top-of-the-line battleship!”

“Ahsoka,” Anakin started, then took a deep breath. “I know you’re nervous, little one. It’s natural. But you need to be confident for your men. A commanding officer leads by example.”

“A  _ commanding officer _ needs to understand the limits of their soldiers,” Ahsoka bit back, sinking lower in her seat. Stubbornness radiated off Anakin; he wasn’t going to change his mind.

Annoyance flashed through the Force. “I  _ told _ you, Ahsoka. Have faith in the men. They’ll come through.”

_ No, they won’t. _

Ahsoka pressed her lips together and stayed silent as Shadow Squadron took off. She didn’t ask how Anakin knew about the route and held her tongue when Master Plo pressed Anakin about the shortcut.  _ (“Balmorra Run?!”) _

“Steady, boys,” she said into the comms once the giant neebray mantis made their appearance. “They’re not interested in you.” She settled herself into the gunner’s seat, taking a deep breath and pushing her anger and frustration into the Force.  _ This was mine and now it is not, this does not define me. _

She reached out, brushing against each of the pilots and gunners of Shadow Squadron, guiding them through the nesting ground. Matchstick’s gunner yelped as they narrowly avoided getting clipped by a mantis’s wing.

“We’re coming out of it!” Anakin called. Ahsoka opened her eyes to see the gases thinning, bright orange wisps diminishing to reveal the yawning star-studded void of open space. “We’re not far behind Grievous now!”

His enthusiasm was infectious. Ahsoka felt herself smile as she turned back to the comm. “Shadow Squadron, damage report.”

“We must not take any more unnecessary risks,” Master Plo said. “If we lose even a single ship, our mission is that much closer to failure.”

“Understood, Master Plo,” Anakin said seriously, and for a moment Ahsoka thought that would be the end of it. (She should have known better.) “But we didn’t lose any ships, and I didn’t -”

A chorus of all-clears answered her before Matchstick’s voice broke through. “Sir! Contact! Coming out of hyperspace - it’s a ship. It’s the  _ Malevolence.” _

“Vultures incoming!” Ahsoka called as she swung around to fire. The Force hummed around her, ice-hot and simmering before the first laser bolts flashed through the void and the dogfight began.

“Get those fighters off of us, Ahsoka!”

Ahsoka bared her teeth in response, adrenaline surging through her. “Your fancy flying isn’t making it any easier!” Static crackled between her montrals -  _ “Incoming!” _

“Make towards the edge of the ray!” Anakin ordered. “Give it everything you’ve got!”

Ahsoka gripped the gun controls, her knuckles turning white.  _ Come on, come on, _ she urged.  _ Did I sense it in time? I did, didn’t I? _

There was no massive, crashing explosion this time. “Shadow Squadron,” Anakin called, when the ray had passed them by, “report.”

Ahsoka took a deep breath as she listened to the tense voices over the comms. “Shadows Ten and Twelve were caught in the ray,” she reported.  _ Middle and Reb. Lucky and Boar. _ “Shadow Five took some damage from the fighters.”

“How bad is it, Tag?” Anakin called.

“Just a scratch, sir.” Tag sounded shaken. “No need to worry about me, General.”

Ahsoka let out a breath and then they dived into the maelstrom.

_ “Stay on course!” _

_ “This flak is heavy -” _

_ “All deflectors, double front!” _

_ The ion cannon, _ Ahsoka thought desperately, wincing as Starburst and Lilac screamed in unison, their Y-wing going up in flames.  _ Go for the ion cannon! _ “Shadow Seven is down,” she reported mechanically, switching to the private channel between her and the Generals. “General Skywalker -”

“We can make it, Ahsoka,” Anakin insisted. “Hang in there!”

_ “I’m hit!”  _ Blank shouted.  _ “Move away move away -” _ Ahsoka turned her head away as the explosion sent shrapnel flying, slicing through Tag’s already-damaged bomber.

Tag swore frantically.  _ “I’m losing control of the -” _ Another explosion, followed by a cry of horror from Middle’s gunner.

“Shadow Five and Six are down,” Ahsoka snapped out.  _ “Anakin -” _

_ “We’re too close, spread out!” _

“We can  _ make it!” _ Anakin barked.

_ “You _ can make it!” Ahsoka hissed back. “Everyone else is getting shot down! Target the ion cannons!”

“If we can do enough damage,” Master Plo intervened, “the weapon may overload when Grievous tries to fire!”

Anakin growled. “That’s not  _ good enough.” _

“It  _ has _ to be!” Ahsoka protested. “Anakin -”

“Shadow Squadron, stay on target!”

_ “Echuta,” _ Ahsoka hissed as the Y-Wing screamed into a climb.  _ “Gaggalak koochoo!” _

The cries of the remaining Shadow pilots echoed in the space around them as they screamed towards the bridge.  _ Middle, Night, Cloud, Click and Clack, Chains - _

_ “Lygan! LYGAN!” _

“Shadow One, what’s happening?” Ahsoka called. Dread lined her gut; even as she spoke, she knew.

Broadside’s voice was ragged over the comms. “My gunner’s down,” he choked out. “Kriffing -”

“Hold it together, Broadside,” Anakin said levelly. “We’re almost there.”

“Anakin, we don’t have enough firepower to take out the bridge,” Ahsoka said urgently. “We have to break off while there’s still time to -”

“No.” Broadside’s voice was hard. “I know what I have to do."

“Broadside,  _ no!” _

Broadside shot forward, past both remaining Y-Wings, accelerating impossibly fast. Smoke began to stream from his engines. The first tongues of flame had begun to sprout when he slammed full-speed into the bridge of the  _ Malevolence. _

The explosion was spectacular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anakin this entire chapter: *clown noises intensify*
> 
> I was hoping to get the Malevolence arc compressed into one chapter but turns out there is WAY MORE HAPPENING than I realized... so it’s gonna be two chapters instead.
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _vod_ \- sibling  
>  _Kaded’ika_ \- Little Fang; a nickname given to Wolffe by Rex circa 7 BBY  
>  _shab_ \- all-purpose swear  
>  _osik_ \- shit  
>  _di’kut_ \- idiot  
>  _chakaare_ \- bastards
> 
> Huttese Translations  
>  _echuta_ \- untranslatable but very derogatory  
>  _gaggalak koochoo_ \- worm-eating idiot


	31. Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new Star Wars stuff got pitched and I had to go lie down. (Also, excuse me, why does the Bad Batch show look like Hunter is going to be the focus??? Give my boy Echo his due credit, please and thank you.) There’s SO MUCH HAPPENING. I’m excited but also worried that most of it’s going to fall through, or that it’ll go the route of the MCU and we’ll drown in content made for quantity over quality. (Then the Mandalorian finale happened and Bo-Katan APPARENTLY forgot that the 501st helped her chase Maul off of Mandalore but I suppose character consistency is too much to ask for.)
> 
> Eh, well, I suppose that’s what fanfic is for. Speaking of...

Master Kenobi’s fleet reduced what remained of the _Malevolence_ to slag. Ahsoka barely registered it; the sad remains of Shadow Squadron - two Y-wings, _two,_ just Anakin and Matchstick - flew back to the _Resolute_ in utter silence.

Ahsoka’s hands shook as she climbed out of the gunner’s dome. Matchstick collapsed on the hangar floor; his gunner, Threes, pulled him out of the way of the floor personnel. When he pulled his helmet off, his face was streaked with tears.

Anakin heaved a weary sigh. “Ahsoka…”

“Don’t,” she spat, fed by emotions that were not her own. _“You -”_

Rex’s hand fell on her shoulder. “Not in front of the men,” he rumbled.

Ahsoka faltered. She pressed her lips together, holding back the stream of anger she wanted to unleash (she needed him to understand, _Broadside was supposed to survive) -_ but Rex was right. The men shouldn’t see their commanding officers fighting.

“Let me handle this,” Rex pressed. Ahsoka’s shoulders slumped; her fury guttered out like a candle in a windstorm, leaving behind only cold, nauseating misery. She glanced over her shoulder as she slunk away, watching Rex standing at stiff attention in front of Anakin, face hard.

She hesitated as her gaze landed on Matchstick and Threes, huddled together on the side of the hangar. Threes was trembling, Matchstick had buried his face in his hands - neither of them looked at her as she approached.

“I’m sorry,” she said plainly, kneeling in front of them both. “Your brothers deserved better.”

Threes winced. Matchstick raised his head, revealing bloodshot eyes and tear tracks. “It’s okay, sir,” he said hoarsely. “It’s what they - what we were bred for.” He tried to smile; the result was something brittle and hard. _“Yisekholin al minkir̀in,_ right, sir?”

Ahsoka swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. _“Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la,”_ she murmured, bowing her head.

Matchstick sniffled.

Feeling worse than useless, Ahsoka rose to her feet and left the hangar.

Master Plo found her in her quarters a few minutes after she arrived. She looked up when the door opened, scrubbing vainly at her eyes.

“May I come in, little ‘Soka?” Master Plo asked, folding his hands in front of him.

Ahsoka nodded. “Of course, Master Plo.”

Master Plo sat cross-legged in front of her bed, watching her calmly. “You are troubled.”

“I don’t understand why he didn’t _stop,”_ Ahsoka hissed. “If we’d targeted the ion cannon from the start, Shadow Squadron might still be alive.”

“Indeed.” Master Plo exhaled slowly. “I will not pretend that your Master did not make a mistake,” he said. “It is not his first, and it will not be his last. No being is without fault, including Jedi.”

 _Oh, I know._ Ahsoka dropped her gaze, staring hard at the floor. “I just…” She folded her arms over her chest, shoulders hunching. “Those men didn’t have to die.”

“But they did,” Master Plo said kindly. “And you are not wrong to mourn them, little ‘Soka. But you must not allow your grief and anger to influence your emotions. That way, Darkness lies.”

_Anakin Skywalker was weak. I destroyed him._

Ahsoka shivered. “I know.”

“There is something else that worries you,” Master Plo observed.

Ahsoka hesitated. “Matchstick…” She sighed. “He said it was what they were bred for. And it’s not - I’ve heard clones say that before, but it.” She ground her teeth. She couldn’t explain why it cut _deeper_ now, but -

_Gives us clones a mixed feeling about the war. Many people wish it never happened, but without it… we clones wouldn’t exist._

“It hurts.”

Master Plo bowed his head. “Yes,” he agreed. “It does.” He leaned forward, placing a taloned hand on Ahsoka’s arm. “There is little we can do for them now, but I promise you, the Council will not abandon the clones when this war is over.”

“Okay,” Ahsoka whispered. She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m sorry, Master Plo -”

“It’s quite all right, Ahsoka,” Master Plo assured her. “These are difficult times.” He sighed heavily. “Broadside’s sacrifice will not be forgotten, but I fear Grievous will not be so easily disposed of.”

Ahsoka’s lip curled. “Of course not.”

Master Plo hummed. The silence stretched between them, awkwardness dissolving into companionship, before it was broken by Master Plo rising to his feet.

“I must rescue Wolffe from your Captain,” he announced, amusement coloring his voice. “I can feel their sparring match from here.”

Ahsoka blinked and reached out through the Force - and winced. “Probably.”

* * *

Rex slammed Wolffe into the mat for the third time in as many bouts. Wolffe growled, twisting in Rex’s hold and looking for a weak spot - but there wasn’t one.

Huffing in defeat, Wolffe slapped the mat. Rex released him, offering his brother a hand up. “Not bad. Would you believe me if I said you almost had me that time?”

Ahsoka’s melancholy pressed at the back of his skull. He frowned, immediately reaching back to ask what was wrong (aside from the obvious) -

“-ex. Rex?”

Rex jumped guiltily and pulled himself back to the present. “Sorry. What?”

Wolffe studied him for a long moment. “Doesn’t matter,” he said eventually.

Rex eyed him. “If you say so,” he muttered. 

He stepped off the mat and reached for his armor. Wolffe followed, slipping on his greys over the borrowed pair of blacks. As Rex reached for his bucket, the commlink on his vambrace blinked.

“Rex here,” he answered, tapping the blinking light. “What’s the issue?”

“You’re needed on the bridge, sir.” Ah, Tracyn. “Ship just came out of hyperspace.”

Rex frowned. “I’m on my way. Reinforcements?”

“No, sir. Looks like -” Tracyn must have turned away, his voice was muffled as he called out to a subordinate. “Naboo transponder, sir. Four-person vessel at most.”

Naboo. Right. Rex sighed and tucked his bucket under his arm, motioning for Wolffe to follow him. “Have the Generals given the order to contact the ship yet?”

“Yes, sir,” Tracyn answered. “We’ve already hailed them.”

“Ten credits says its Senator Amidala,” Rex muttered to Wolffe as they stepped into the corridor, heading briskly for the bridge.

Wolffe grunted. “You don’t have ten credits.”

“That a no?”

Tracyn interrupted before Wolffe could respond. “It is Senator Amidala, sir,” he said, sounding utterly exasperated. “Admiral Yularen has redirected her towards the hangar. Apologies, sir, it looks like you’re not needed up here after all.”

“No worries, Lieutenant,” Rex said. “Can I assume General Skywalker is already on his way to greet her?”

“Yes, sir.”

Wolffe snorted as Rex ended the call. “Maybe you’d better get up there anyway, if your General’s run off to play politics.”

“Skywalker and politics don’t mix,” Rex said absently, putting on his helmet. “Senator Amidala’s all right though. Might be worth meeting her anyway.” She was too close to Skywalker to be trusted with anything sensitive, but it would be good to get the measure of her just in case. She _had_ been one of the original founders of the Rebellion, right alongside Bail Organa and Mon Mothma. It was just that she hadn’t lived to see it made necessary.

With a jolt, Rex realized that Senator Amidala was Luke Skywalker’s _mother_. Somehow, that hadn’t registered before now. She was a difficult woman to think of in relation to anyone except herself. People like her tended to define others in relation to themselves, intentionally or otherwise, rather than the other way around.

Princess Leia had been like that too. He smiled fondly at the memory of Organa’s firebrand daughter. The galaxy could use more people like her.

General Plo Koon arrived to retrieve Wolffe before they reached the hangar, so Rex entered alone. To his complete lack of surprise, General Skywalker was waiting to greet Senator Amidala in the hangar. He waited with his helmet on, a few steps behind Skywalker’s shoulder. Technically he didn’t _need_ to be here, but it would do Skywalker good to remember that he _wasn’t alone in the_ shabla _hangar._

From the moment she stepped off the ship, Senator Amidala only had eyes for Skywalker. Rex rolled his eyes and glanced at the woman who followed her down the little ship’s boarding ramp.

She bore no more than a passing resemblance to the Senator - squarer jaw, darker skin, prominent ears - and she was dressed in simple aid’s garb, but Rex remembered what Fives had told him about the Naboo and their handmaidens. She scanned the inside of the ship, eyes resting briefly on him. Her weight shifted, just enough to be noticeable, and Rex realized that he was still wound tight, practically blaring _potential threat_ to anyone clever enough to notice.

Apparently, the handmaiden (Rex was sure that was what she was, never mind that Senator Amidala wasn’t a Queen anymore) was one such person.

* * *

Maul stood in the center of the village, watching the Nightbrothers move around him.

This was… not what he had expected. The venateryx perched on his shoulder, chirruping occasionally. He was not sure what he had been expecting, but this - this was not it.

Savage stood in front of him, but it was not Savage - this brother of his was small, with small horns instead of the spearheads Savage had worn. But the tattoos were right, and the face… Maul could never forget that face.

“You are… shorter than I expected,” Maul murmured.

“I… apologize.” That was Savage’s voice, certainly, but Maul’s brother would never _apologize_ (except at the end, when Maul held his hand as he died).

The Force prickled at the back of his neck. Maul turned, eyes landing on another Nightbrother - this one with smaller horns and a narrower face than Savage, keen-eyed and anxious, but with the same yellow-gold skin.

“You,” Maul called. “What is your name?”

The Nightbrother flinched. “Feral, my lord.”

“I will serve you,” Savage said quietly, voice low. “Spare him, please.”

Maul did not glance back at him, instead studying this… _Feral_ who commanded Savage’s loyalty, around whom the Force sang in a low hum. He was not strong, but he might be useful yet. “And who is he to you?”

Savage hesitated.

“My brother, lord,” he answered quietly.

_Brother._

“You will both serve,” Maul decided abruptly. _Why had Savage never mentioned a brother?_

“My lord,” Brother Viscus protested, speaking up for the first since Maul had arrived and demanded to see Savage Opress. “Surely Mother Talzin does not require -”

“I am not _here_ to do my mother’s bidding,” Maul snarled, whirling on the man. “I am here for my brothers.” _Brothers._ The word burned in his throat.

Far above, something shifted. Maul looked up, brow furrowed, but he could see nothing - and yet the disturbance was there, nonetheless.

“Follow,” he ordered Savage and Feral, turning on his heel. “We have much work to do.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-3636 “Wolffe”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Cody”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CT-7567 “Rex”, CC-1007 “Blackout”, CC-1010 “Foxed Up”_

_Wolffe_ \- hey

 _Cody_ \- Howre you holding up vod?

 _Wolffe_ \- kark you is how im holding up

 _Wolffe_ \- actually can I

 _Wolffe_ \- hang on i gotta fiddle with

 _Mr. Secura_ \- whose helmet are you using now?

 _Wolffe_ \- Rex had a spare datapad

[CC-3636 has blocked CT-7567]

 _Wolffe_ \- AHA. IT CAN BE DONE

 _Cody_ \- ???

 _Wolffe_ \- I bring brotherly gossip

 _Wolffe_ \- rex spaced out between spars

 _Cody_ \- Spaced out or droided?

 _Wolffe_ \- spaced out

 _Wolffe_ \- came back soon enough but it was still. Weird ynow

 _Wolffe_ \- wouldnt be worried if Everything Else wasnt also happening

 _Cody_ \- Oh okay NOT in the middle of the spar

 _Wolffe_ \- no in between

 _Wolffe_ \- wait did he droid in a BATTLE

 _Cody_ \- Yeah christophsis

 _Wolffe_ \- mood

 _Wolffe_ \- i mean yikes but also mood

 _Cody_ \- skdfjsdf

[CC-2224 has unblocked CT-7567]

 _Rex_ \- if ur done

 _Rex_ \- time sensitive opinions on naboo handmaidens

 _Cody_ \- Uhh

 _Cody_ \- Largely neutral? Why?

 _Rex_ \- i have 2ndhand knowledge abt the one onboard resolute (I think)

 _Rex_ \- COULD be useful. MIGHT be 2 close to amidala/skywalker to risk it

 _Mr. Secura_ \- we’re not gonna tell natborns before we tell vode, right?

 _Rex_ \- no but if we can get an in for the senate itll make our lives easier down the road

 _Foxed Up_ \- He’s not wrong.

 _Foxed Up_ \- I’ve heard some whispering among Thire’s boys about a new natborn in Legal who isn’t terrible.

 _Foxed Up_ \- Normally I wouldn’t care but we need all the allies we can get right now.

 _Rex_ \- exactly

 _Cody_ \- Drop some hints and see if she follows the trail

 _Cody_ \- @Blackout keep an eye out

 _Blackout_ \- ugh fine

 _Blackout_ \- smh natborns

[CC-1007 has blocked CC-1010]

 _Blackout_ \- also. guess where ive set up shop

 _Cody_ \- ?

 _Blackout_ \- dathomir

 _Rex_ \- are you kriffing kidding me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon presents me with the Nightbrothers/Nightsisters… thing and I Scream Loudly, because unfortunately it’s too central to Maul to just rewrite entirely but ugh, I hate it.
> 
> Anyway, I can’t take credit for… almost anything to do with Naboo and the handmaidens honestly, most of that worldbuilding comes from tumblr users [naberiie](https://naberiie.tumblr.com/) and [evaceratops](https://evaceratops.tumblr.com/), authors of the fantastic Fives/Rabé fic [From Which Stars Have We Fallen, to Meet Each Other Here?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11576703/chapters/29838726) (Another rarepair I’m working into this fic? Maybe so.)
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la_ \- not gone, merely marching far away; traditional farewell for the departed  
>  _shabla_ \- screwed up (impolite), equivalent to “damned”; traditional Mando’a spells the word ‘shab’la’, but more casual dialects (including the GAR) drop the apostrophe
> 
> Togruti Translations  
>  _yisekholin al minkir̀in_ \- rest and hunt; traditional farewell for the departed


	32. Backwater Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have the entire Rishi arc done by Christmas… as you can see, this did not happen.

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-2224 “Cody”_

_Other Participants - CT-7567 “Rex” [offline], CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CC-1007 “Blackout” [offline], CC-1010 “Foxed Up” [offline]_

_Mr. Secura_ \- Me and two of the medics are de-chipped

 _Wolffe_ \- so that’s all the burc’ye, right?

 _Wolffe_ \- except for fox

 _Cody_ \- Correct. I’m moving through the 212th command staff atm

 _Cody_ \- Its slow kriffing going though

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Yeah :(

 _Mr. Secura_ \- But itll be faster once we've read everyone in!

 _Wolffe_ \- Well my original Wolfpack boys are all clean

 _Wolffe_ \- Just have to deal with the shinies now

[CT-7567 has logged on]

 _Cody_ \- So how was mimban rex

 _Rex_ \- never speak to me again

 _Cody_ \- That well huh

 _Rex_ \- I WANT TO KNOW WHO GAVE JAR JAR BINKS A LIGHTSABER

 _Wolffe_ \- Excuse Me What

 _Rex_ \- WHO. GAVE. JAR JAR BINKS. A LIGHTSABER. AGAIN.

 _Rex_ \- I TOOK SPECIFIC PRECAUTIONS TO MAKE SURE HE WOULDN’T GET A LIGHTSABER.

 _Mr. Secura_ \- omg???

 _Rex_ \- I hate it here

 _Wolffe_ \- same

 _Wolffe_ \- hey @Cody any word on head calnker

 _Rex_ \- calnker

 _Cody_ \- Well the salvage crews didnt find him on the malevolence so working theory is that hes out there Somewhere

 _Cody_ \- Presumably welding himself back together

 _Wolffe_ \- no luck on the somewhere i take it

 _Cody_ \- Nope

 _Cody_ \- So little luck in fact that rex and me are getting stuck on inspection duty

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Poor shinies :(

 _Rex_ \- the shinies will be fine

 _Rex_ \- skywalker threw ahsoka in with us

 _Cody_ \- Force really

 _Rex_ \- yeah apparently hes hoping youll teach her some respect

 _Rex_ \- something about her cursing him out

* * *

Hevy cackled as he slammed Cutup’s arm onto the console. “Who’s next?” he crowed, looking around at the rest of Domino Squad. “Fives?”

Fives leaned back in his chair, keeping half an eye on the unchanging readouts. On the other side of the room, Droidbait looked up from his own display.

“Shouldn’t you be watching your scope, Hevy?”

 _Echo._ Fives glanced at Droidbait and rolled his eyes. Of course.

“Yeah! Let’s take a look!” Hevy whirled back around to his station. “Hmm, what do you know, all clear - just like the _last_ hundred times I looked at it,” he muttered.

Echo didn’t take offense, because Echo didn’t take offense at _anything._ “Personally, I like that it’s so quiet out here. You can catch up on the reg manuals.”

 _Force, Echo._ Fives took a moment to bury his face in his hands. _How are we twins?_

Hevy made a disgusted noise. “What is _wrong_ with you? We should be on the front lines, blasting droids!”

“Aww, leave him alone,” Cutup said, grinning. “They left him in his growth jar too long.”

Five squawked in protest, but it was drowned out by Hevy and Cutup’s - _and Droidbait’s, the traitor_ \- laughter.

“You may not realize it yet, Fives,” Hevy said, adopting a mock-grave tone. “But we’ve landed on the most boring post _in the Outer Rim.”_

“And one of the most important.”

_Oh, kriff._

Fives scrambled upright. Hevy’s eyes widened comically. Cutup squeaked in panic.

“Attention!” Echo barked, galvanizing them into movement - Cutup hastily turned off the radio. “Sergeant on deck!”

“At ease,” Sergeant O’Niner ordered, glancing at Hevy out of narrowed eyes. (Nobody was at ease.) “Even though you’re all new here, I shouldn’t have to remind you that this quadrant is _key_ to the Outer Rim.” He paced around the room, passing by each man - Fives was pretty sure he was holding his breath when the Sergeant passed _him._ “If the droids get past this station, they can surprise attack the facilities where we were born and raised - where our brothers are being raised as we speak.”

He stopped in front of Hevy, staring him down for one long moment before turning back to face the rest of them. “There are some officers on the way, so I want everything squared away for inspection. Understood?”

_“Sir, yes sir!”_

“Inspection,” Hevy hissed as soon as Sergeant O’Niner was gone. “What the kriff is there to inspect out _here?”_

Echo scowled. “It’s in the regs,” he began. “Regulation 51-A says that all facilities under the purview of the Grand Army of the Republic -”

“Would you _shut up,_ Echo?” Hevy demanded, wheeling around.

 _“Okay,”_ Fives said loudly, pushing his way between them. “Both of you shut up. Let’s just get the base ready for the officers, okay?”

“Right, yeah,” Echo said quickly, scuttling away from Hevy like he’d been kicked. “I’ll square away the barracks.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Hevy muttered, scuffing the toe of his armor against the floor. “I’ll get the armory sorted. Hey, Droidbait, you and Cutup are on scope duty.” He grinned apologetically at Fives. “Guess that leaves to sort out the equipment.”

“I’ll go with you,” Nub offered, stretching languidly. “I’ve been sitting down too long anyway.”

Fives stared at him. Equipment maintenance, on this moon, generally meant freezing your armor off while you checked wiring and signal response outside of the relative warmth of the base. Offering to do someone’s EM shift was a guaranteed way to get you either whatever favor you wanted or a swift trip to a psych evaluation.

(Or, if you were Echo and didn’t trust Cutup to do the job right, a Taungsday.)

Nub didn’t wait for him, though, so Fives was left to grab his helmet and scramble after the other clone. He rubbed his hands together as soon as he stepped outside, even though the cold hadn’t sunk in yet - and probably wouldn’t for at least another quarter of an hour.

A quarter of an hour later, and he was starting to lose coordination in his fingers. Fives scowled at the wires - this particular camera had been giving them staticky feedback since they’d arrived, but nobody had bothered to fix it until now because - well - why bother? Hevy was right. Nothing _happened_ on Rishi.

He growled in frustration. “Hey, Nub!” he called. The other clone looked up from where he was resealing the door panel. “Come help me with this, would you?”

Nub wandered over unhurriedly. “Trying to fix the static?”

“What else?” Fives grumbled. “Can you do it?”

“Uh…” Nub hummed, peering at the diagnostic readout on the datapad in Fives’s hands. “Yeah, I think so. Give me a bit. Hold those wires.”

The _next_ quarter of an hour passed with Fives manipulating the wires like Nub instructed, trying not to let his hands shake. About the time his elbows were starting to lock up, Nub crowed victoriously and disconnected the datapad.

“Should be all in order,” he said, handing the ‘pad back to Fives. “Go ahead and seal that back up.”

“Cheers,” Fives said, heartfelt.

Nub shrugged. “Hey, it’s my shebs on the line too if we get marked for faulty equipment,” he pointed out.

Fives blinked. “Shebs?”

“Never mind,” Nub said, shaking his head. “You and your brothers really are fresh off Kamino, huh?”

Fives bristled. “We’re not that fresh!”

“Yes, you are.” Nub chuckled. “It’s fine. Someone’ll explain it to you once you get assigned to a battalion.”

 _If we ever do._ “Why aren’t you with your battalion then?” he challenged. “If you know so much.”

“Injury, kid.” Nub peeled back the black fingers of his glove to reveal exposed metal and wires. “I’m stationed here until the adjustment period’s up, then I’ll be redeploying with Captain Keeli and the 64th.” Pride shone through his voice when he spoke about his old unit.

Fives was enraptured by it, enough to drown out the awkwardness of Nub’s reveal. “What’s it like? Being on the front lines.”

“Chaotic,” Nub admitted. “You learn to enjoy the quiet when it comes. Quiet means no vode dying.”

“Vode?”

“Brothers. Sisters. Siblings.” Nub chuckled. “Most of the troops speak a bit of Mando’a and a few other languages mixed in. The 64th has some Huttese mixed in with Nikto from the General.” He clapped a hand on Fives’s shoulder. “Who knows? Maybe you and your brothers can join me if you impress the Sergeant enough to get a transfer.”

“You think so?” Fives said eagerly. “Really?” Hevy would _love_ that. The 64th was half-legendary - not as much as Marshall Commander Cody’s Ghost Company or the looming, unknowable specter of the 501st Legion, but they commanded respect - and they were always right in the thick of things.

Nub shrugged. “I can’t promise anything,” he said, “but yeah. You lot would fit in well, I think.” He still had his helmet on, but Fives got the sense he was grinning. “Once Hevy loses the attitude. The Captain doesn’t tolerate that kind of backtalk on the field.”

Fives snorted. He was pretty sure the galaxy could be swallowed by a black hole and Hevy wouldn’t lose the attitude.

“You laugh now,” Nub muttered. “Go on, get back inside and let me finish up this control panel. The officers will be arriving soon.”

“Right!” Fives turned and headed towards the door. He stopped just as the metal slid open before him. “Hey, Nub?”

Nub glanced back. “Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-1007 “Blackout”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Cody” [offline], CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe”, CT-7567 “Rex” [offline], CC-1010 “Foxed Up” [offline]_

[CC-1007 has blocked CC-1010]

 _Blackout_ \- caught someone sniffing around our digital signature

 _Blackout_ \- might be our nabooian friend

 _Blackout_ \- in other news bacta production is running smoothly and we can start selling soon so @  Rex  if you want to throw any of those black market contacts my way id appreciate it

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Why does Rex know black market dealers?

 _Blackout_ \- you should know better than to ask those kind of questions

 _Blackout_ \- anyway once we have a supply chain going we can boost the de-chipping numbers and REX you really need to get on the “tell ur subordinates” train please

 _Blackout_ \- bc right now if osik goes down its u vs the entire 501st and i dont like those odds

[CC-1007 has unblocked CC-1010]

* * *

The alarm started blaring from Fives’s workstation as soon as he stepped inside. He sprinted towards it, grimacing as he saw the readout. “Sir!” he called. “Incoming meteor shower!”

Sergeant O’Niner nodded. “Raise the shield.”

Fives complied, sighing in relief when the alarm died.

“You wanted excitement, Hevy,” Cutup called.

“Right,” Hevy muttered. “Ooh. _Meteor shower.”_

Droidbait snorted. Fives remembered what Nub had said and didn’t.

The thudding of the meteors against the shield died away. The silence stretched; Fives drummed his fingers on the control panel, waiting for the sentry to call in.

When he didn’t, Sergeant O’Niner pulled up his commlink, frowning. “CT-327, report in.”

Static.

“Sentry, do you copy?”

Static. Fives pulled up the scopes and panned over the facility’s entrance.

“Interference from the meteors?” Droidbait offered.

“I don’t see him down there, Sarge,” Fives said, hoping he didn’t sound as worried as he felt. He didn’t know CT-327 that well, but he didn’t seem like the type to just up and leave his post. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nub tense in his seat.

“You two,” O’Niner growled, pointing to Droidbait and Nub, “go find him.”

Nub was up in a second. Droidbait was right behind him, fumbling with his helmet. Fives turned back to the scopes, panning across the landing platform - maybe CT-327 had moved -

“Sarge,” he called. “There’s a Republic shuttle -”

_“Droids!”_

Fives’s blood froze. All thoughts of the inspection fled as the sounds of blasterfire erupted down the hall.

Sergeant O’Niner donned his helmet and sprinted into the fray. “Sound the alarm!” he barked. “Droidbait! Get back here!”

Cutup dove forward to pull Droidbait out of the line of fire. Fives sprang forward to help - there was a smoking hole in Droidbait’s shoulder armor, but he struggled to his feet and shrugged off their help.

“Where’s Nub?” Fives blurted.

Droidbait shook his head.

“They’ve disabled the beacon!” Echo shouted.

Sergeant O’Niner snarled. “Get a message to the fleet!” he barked. “We have to warn -”

His words were swallowed in a shout as a blaster bolt caught him in the knee and sent him tumbling to the ground. Fives watched, frozen in horror, as a trio of droids - _not just droids,_ commando _droids_ \- pounced on him. One kicked away his blaster - all three opened fire.

“Sarge!” Echo shouted.

The cry jolted Fives back to himself; he grabbed Echo and pulled him away, through the base to the emergency escape. _Base is gone, get the kriff out and try again,_ he thought frantically. _Where’s the reset button when you need it?_

“Come on,” he urged, prying the grate free. “Let’s go, let’s go - Cutup, _come on!”_

Hevy dragged Cutup away from the sparking control panel next to the locked-shut doors - _oh, good idea Cutup_ \- over to the grate, shoving him in after Droidbait and Echo. “Fives -”

“Go!” Fives urged frantically, glancing over his shoulder. “I’ll be right behind you!”

He scrambled in after Hevy, biting back a curse as he knocked his head against the low ceiling. Twisting awkwardly, he dragged the grate back across the opening just as an explosion roared outside.

_Clank, clank, clank._

Fives wriggled backward, grimacing when his armor clicked against the sides.

_Clank, clank, clank._

_“Five clones escaped, Captain.”_

Fives froze. The commander droids were _right outside the grate._

_“They don’t matter. Have the clones and the Jedi on the landing platform been eliminated?”_

_“Yes, sir.”_

_“Good. Hardwire the all-clear signal and contact Mistress Ventress.”_

Fives swallowed hard. The officers - they’d had a _Jedi_ with them, and they were still -? No, the droids had to be wrong. There was no way a _Jedi_ was going to die on some stanging backwater moon like _Rishi._ Right?

Carefully, so, so carefully, Fives crawled backwards, moving as quietly as possible so as not to draw the droids’ attention. It wasn’t until he rounded the bend and the grate was out of sight that he let go of the breath he’d been holding, and it wasn’t until he reached a steep slide that he turned around and picked up the pace.

He tumbled out the other end and landed hard, nearly knocking Echo over in the process. “Ow.”

“You _idiot,”_ Hevy hissed, pulling him to his feet. “What took you so long? You said you were right behind me!”

“I _was,”_ Fives protested. “Then the droids showed up and I had to keep still or get _shot._ How’s Droidbait?”

Droidbait looked up from where he was slumped against the canyon wall and offered a shaky thumbs-up.

“So…” Cutup trailed off awkwardly, looking around at them. “What do we do without the Sarge?”

_Sssssss._

Predictably, Echo piped up. “The reg manual says -”

_Screeeeeeeee._

“Wait, wait!” Fives hissed. “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah,” Hevy said slowly, inching closer to Droidbait and Cutup. “What is that?”

“It doesn’t sound like droids,” Cutup said uneasily.

Echo tugged Fives back from the edge of the cliff. “Don’t forget about those _giant eels.”_

Fives scoffed, even though he wasn’t feeling particularly brave. “Aw, I’ve never seen -”

Something grabbed him.

Correction: four different things impaled him all at once and _dragged him into the air._

Fives screamed, half in fear and half in pain. He heard Echo shout his name - someone opened fire, but the bolts missed -

The creature holding him suddenly went slack. The world tilted. Fives’s stomach heaved as the stars whirled above them and then _ohkrifftheground -_

“Fives! _Fives!”_

Everything hurt _so much,_ but it was infinitely better than being waved around like a tooka kitten. Fives kicked his way free of the - oh that was a mouth - and scrambled back on all fours, panting.

 _“What the hell was that?”_ he demanded, not even _caring_ that his voice cracked.

“That was an eel,” Echo said, helping him to his feet. “And that’s why we have the regulation _not_ to go outside.”

“Nice _shot,”_ Hevy hissed from somewhere behind him. Fives turned around blearily, following Hevy’s gaze towards -

Oh. Okay. Apparently the officers - or at least, one officer - really _wasn’t_ dead.

“Rex,” the officer corrected. “But you’ll call me ‘Captain’ or ‘sir’.” He rose from his place kneeling next to the eel’s head and turned to face them, expression hidden behind his helmet.

 _“Sir yes sir!”_ Fives’s response echoed embarrassingly late after the others’. Echo nudged him sharply, then muttered an apology when Fives swayed from the shove.

Captain Rex’s gaze jumped to him immediately. Fives straightened, already feeling guilty and not knowing why. “My designation is two-seven-dash-five-five-five-five sir!”

Hevy rolled his eyes. “We call him Fives. I’m Hevy, this is Echo. That’s Cutup, and the wounded one is Droidbait.”

Captain Rex stiffened. “Fives.”

Fives resisted the urge to shift in place. “Yes, sir.”

He held the Captain’s gaze for a moment longer before he looked away. Something went out of the Captain’s posture when he did; Rex turned to the side and activated his commlink. “Commanders. I’ve located the survivors. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a batch of shinies.”

_“On our way, Captain. We’ll be a few minutes, there’s another MagnaGuard left.”_

The Captain let the connection close and dropped his arm back to his side. He watched them all, silent - but his gaze kept sliding back to Fives.

“Shinies, sir?” Echo piped up.

“That’s right.” The Captain actually sounded amused as he approached. “Your armor. It’s shiny and new.” He patted Echo on the chest roughly, leaving a handprint in eel’s blood. “Just like you.”

Fives’s mind was racing, too busy to worry over the odd tone in the Captain’s voice. The voice that had come out of the commlink definitely hadn’t been a clone - the Jedi must have survived too! And if there were _two_ Commanders, then _Marshall Commander Cody_ was also alive.

Those droids were going to regret coming to Rishi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note on the concept of twins - in the GAR, twins are clones that were grown in the same tank at the same time. They’re fairly rare, because the Kaminoans have a tendency to nix anything that doesn’t conform exactly to their standards, but occasionally a pair will slip through. Traditionally, twins are close and more alike than other clones are to their vode, but this is about as true for them as it is for natborn twins.
> 
> Also, fun note - Nub’s name comes from the Clone Wars episode guide and is apparently an acronym for “non-useful body.” Ouch.
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _shebs_ \- butt  
>  _vode_ \- siblings


	33. Take Me Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took SO LONG TO WRITE for absolutely no reason.

Commander Tano was the first Jedi Domino Squad had ever met - except for General Ti, who was stationed on Kamino and therefore didn’t count.

Echo, naturally, was in awe. Fives had to keep elbowing him so he’d stop staring.

“Who’s injured?” were the first words out of her mouth as she approached, tossing a MagnaGuard head towards Captain Rex. She  _ had _ to be cold - the sleeves on her red tunic didn’t even reach her elbows, and her leggings definitely weren’t bulky enough to be insulated.

“Fives, get over here,” she ordered once she was done applying bacta to Droidbait - turns out it was just a very painful graze. “I can feel the pain from here. What happened?”

“Eel,” Captain Rex grunted. He turned back to Commander Cody, accepting the proffered rifle and slinging the strap over his shoulder. “Hope it was useful.”

“It had its moments,” Commander Cody agreed.

Commander Tano’s mouth twitched. “C’mon,” she called to Fives. “Sit down, let me take a look.”

Fives sat down. As soon as Commander Tano peeled his blacks away from the bite marks, Fives felt himself relax, the pain leaching out of him. He didn’t realize he was swaying until Hevy steadied him.

“Woah, brother,” Hevy muttered. “You okay?”

“Huh?” Fives blinked slowly. “Uh. Yeah.”

“Sorry,” Commander Tano said sheepishly, pressing a bacta patch against his injuries. “I should have warned you - it’s an old Jedi technique for treating injuries. Takes the pain away, makes the whole process a bit easier.” She patted his arm. “Looks like you’re gonna be okay, Fives. The pain’s going to come back once I stop focusing on it, but the bacta should help with that.”

“That’s a neat trick, sir,” Echo said admiringly. Fives rolled his eyes and smacked his brother on the arm.  _ Suck-up. _

“Can all Jedi do that?” Hevy asked curiously, 

Commander Tano grinned. “It took a fair bit of practice, I’ll admit. But I’m not much of a healer otherwise, so it’s nice to be able to help.”

“Ahsoka,” Captain Rex cut in quietly.

Commander Tano grimaced. “Right, sorry.” She stood up, dusting off her knees - Fives wrinkled his nose when the pain returned, dulled down to a pervasive ache. “Find something, Rex?”

“Maybe.” Captain Rex tapped his datapad. “Sliced into the memory banks, pulled some holorecordings. One of them looks promising.” At a gesture from Commander Tano, he played it.

The staticky, blue-toned figures crackled to life. General Grievous was instantly recognizable, and the other - 

Echo elbowed him  _ hard. _ “That’s Count Dooku!”

Fives glared at him - as if  _ any clone _ didn’t know what the Seppie head of state looked like.

_ “The destruction of the  _ Malevolence _ was a great blow to our forces,” _ Count Dooku was saying. Commander Tano scowled.  _ “We must strike quickly to disrupt the Republic’s momentum.” _

_ “Have no fear, Count,” _ Grievous responded. Cutup grimaced; Fives sympathized - Grievous’s voice sounded like a gundark being fed through a rock crusher.  _ “The Republic won’t realize we’re on Kamino until it’s too late!” _

Droidbait gasped. “They’re on  _ Kamino,” _ he blurted. “We have to -”

Captain Rex held up a hand and Droidbait fell silent immediately, staring at Fives wide-eyed like he expected him to do something.

_ “See that they do not,” _ Count Dooku replied.  _ “I expect your  _ full  _ attention on his effort, General. Your failure here would be most unfortunate.” _

General Grievous growled as the hologram of Count Dooku shivered and died.  _ “Bodyguards,” _ he snarled, wheeling around - for a moment, Fives froze as the hologram seemed to stare directly at him.  _ “Deploy with the commandos!” _

The faint blue light died.

“Well,” Commander Tano said into the silence that followed, “now we know where the MagnaGuards came from.”

Captain Rex hummed. “And Grievous has recovered.” He handed the datapad to Commander Cody and crossed his arms over his chest. “He’ll be sending reinforcements soon. We need to retake the base before that happens.”

_ “Please _ tell me you have a plan that  _ isn’t _ disguising yourself as a droid,” Commander Cody muttered.

Echo choked. Hevy looked  _ delighted. _

“Too late for that,” Commander Tano said suddenly, looking up at the sky. She stretched her arm up to the sky, rising on her toes, as a small bundle of cream-white feathers darted into view.

Commander Tano plucked the little bird out of the air and held it level with her face. The bird chirped rapidly, fluffing its wings as it stared at her with large eyes.

Fives stared in shock when Commander Tano nodded as if she’d understood, turned to Captain Rex and Commander Cody, and announced, “There’s a squad of MagnaGuards moving to reinforce the droids holding the base.”

Hevy swore. Fives sympathized -  _ MagnaGuards? Reinforcements? _

“If I go now, I can intercept them before they reach the base,” she continued. “If we move fast, we can retake the base and kill the all-clear before the rest of the battalion arrives.”

Commander Cody hummed. “You sure you can take on a whole squad by yourself?”

“She’ll be fine,” Captain Rex responded, uncrossing his arms. “Fives, there’s a tunnel leading into the base, correct?”

“Uh -” Hevy was usually the one who took the lead. “Yes, sir!”

Captain Rex nodded. “We’ll take that route, then. Commander Tano will engage the reinforcements. Once the reinforcements are sufficiently distracted, signal us on comms and come join us. On your signal, we’ll attack from the tunnel and drive the droids out of the base.” He hummed. “They’ve probably hardwired the all-clear signal.”

Echo shifted. “With enough time, we could -”

“We don’t  _ have _ time.” Captain Rex sighed. “We’ll deal with that once we’ve retaken the base. Commander.” He turned to Commander Cody. “Mind taking the lead?”

“So nice of you to ask,” Commander Cody drawled. He straightened up, waving Domino forward as he returned to the open tunnel.

Fives moved to join them, but Captain Rex’s hand came down heavily on his shoulder. “Not you.”

“Uh… sir?”

“Once Commander Tano’s engaged the droids, she’ll be too occupied to send the signal herself.” Captain Rex let his hand slide off of Fives’s shoulder. “I need you to keep watch and signal for her once the droids are distracted.”

“I - yes, sir,” Fives said hastily, “but I can’t just leave my brothers -”

Captain Rex held up a hand. “I’m not asking you to,” he said with surprising gentleness. “Once you’ve signaled the attack climb up the tunnel and join us. Right now, though, I need you  _ here.” _

Five straightened. “Yes, sir,” he said fiercely. “You can count on me.”

“I know, Fives.” (There was something  _ off _ about his voice, but Fives was too busy being complimented to notice.)

Commander Tano grinned as the others climbed into the tunnel. Her fangs glinted in the starlight. “Ready, Fives?”

Fives grinned back. “Yes, sir!”

* * *

Maul moved silently through the forests of Dathomir.

Savage had brought word of a strange feeling in the Force back from a training venture Maul had sent him on - he was doing well, perhaps  _ better _ than Maul expected (he was small, so small compared to the memories Maul had of him) but he and this…  _ Feral _ took to their new roles with unexpected zeal.

Of the two of them, this Feral was the stealthier. He moved ahead with a hunter’s grace, slipping from shadow to shadow without a sound. Savage remained behind with Viscus, tending to his wounds from the Dathomiri wildlife.

Feral stopped, jerking Maul out of his thoughts. The Force hummed around them with the sense of life-forms - not the myriad animals of Dathomir, but something else.

“Master?” Feral whispered, stopping in his tracks. “I sense something.”

“People,” Maul rumbled. “Yes, they have been here for some time… undetected.”

How strange. There were no witch-clans out this far, Maul had checked - and yet Savage’s report had been accurate. The brighter, sharper presences of sentients permeated the air here - and, judging by how settled they were, they had been here for some time. Weeks, even.

_ How had they slipped past the Nightsisters? _ Maul, admittedly, did not spend much time with them, he was too busy training his brothers  _ (brothers, plural) _ \- but his mother should have mentioned it if there were newcomers on the planet -

_ Mother Talzin’s brow pinched as Maul explained that he was not training Savage and Feral for the Nightsister’s benefit, but his own. _

She would have told him. Mother Talzin had given everything to help him in his quest for revenge against Sidious after Savage had been slain - even her own life.

_ If I lower my defenses, you will die. _

Maul gritted his teeth.

_ Run! _

“Wait here,” he told Feral - small, young,  _ unarmed _ save for the crude Nightbrother blade strapped to his belt. He had not earned the right to carry a lightsaber yet, even if Maul knew where to procure the crystals for one; his Master had sent him to kill a Jedi for them, but now…

Maul despised the Jedi still, with an old hatred that had never left him, but long years of running and hiding from his old Master had filled him with gnawing fear that left room for little else. It was impossible not to link that fear, his Master’s dominion, with the fall of the Jedi - not when it had been his crowning achievement.

If the Jedi must fall, they would fall - but Sidious would fall first.

“I will investigate.”

* * *

Fives was perched precariously on a rock outcropping, gripping the rough stone tightly as he watched Commander Tano climb nimbly up to the landing platform. The MagnaGuards were approaching the base; Fives swallowed hard as his palms turned sweaty as they passed less than a meter away from where Commander Tano was clinging to the side of the platform, pressing herself against the metal structure.

He had  _ no idea  _ what the Commander was planning, but he hoped she’d do it fast  _ before those droids got to the door - _

Before he could finish the thought, Commander Tano jumped - vaulted - hell, nearly  _ flew _ onto the platform, white lightsabers cutting through Rishi’s gloom like - like -

Fives couldn’t think of a good comparison.

The MagnaGuards turned as one, electrostaffs crackling to evil, purple life. They attacked in pairs, their movements a stiff and jerky counterpoint to the elegant, sweeping strikes and feather-light footwork of Commander Tano, who barely seemed to touch the ground as she lured them towards the end of the platform, away from the main doors.

The main doors. The main doors to the base, which Captain Rex  _ and the rest of Domino Squad _ was supposed to be attacking -

_ Oh, stang. _ Fives fumbled for his comm, squeaking as his feet slid against stone as he tapped the button on his comm to signal the others. He glanced up just in time to witness Commander Tano leaping  _ three meters into the air _ and somersaulting over the MagnaGuards’ heads, slicing two of them in half upon landing. Fives half-expected her to sprout  _ wings. _

The doors of the base opened. Three commando droids emerged, blasters aimed at Commander Tano’s back.

Fives didn’t even think. He raised his blaster and took aim; he  _ felt _ the trigger compress under his finger without conscious thought.

Four of his shots went wide - his blaster wasn’t meant to shoot from this distance - but the fifth seared into the cranial processor of the lead droid. It didn’t drop; it did stagger.

Commander Tano cartwheeled out of the way, flinging out a hand that sent the remaining three MagnaGuards flying back a full meter before she whirled, lightsabers a blur of star-white light that batted red lasers out into the darkness. Fives kept firing - most of his shots missed from this distance, but he was  _ trying _ \- and one of the commando droids dropped.

With a gesture, Commander Tano sent a pair of crates flying down towards the base entrance, knocking the commando droids flat. Fives  _ whooped _ \- then yelped as the remaining commando droid got back to its feet with an unnatural contortion of metal limbs.

Fives’s grip tightened on the trigger, muscles tensing as he shifted his position and took aim.

One-two-three shots went into the droid’s processor. The commando droid dropped with a crackle of static and sparks.

Commander Tano moved too fast to tell, but Fives would  _ swear _ she grinned at him.

His comm crackled to life as Commander Tano whirled to engage the MagnaGuards.

_ “The droids hardwired the signal,” _ Captain Rex barked. _ “We have to blow the base - get back to the tunnel entrance!” _

Blow the -?

_ Oh, stang. _

Fives half-slithered, half-fell down the cliff, tumbling onto the rocky shelf at Echo’s feet as they all scrambled out of the tunnel.

“Where’s Commander Tano?” Commander Cody asked as Echo pulled Fives to his feet.

Fives blinked. “Uh -”

“Out of range.” Captain Rex pulled out his datapad, pressed the screen -

_ KABOOM. _

* * *

Of all the things Maul was expecting to find hiding on Dathomir,  _ clones _ had not made the list.

There were only a few of them, all clad in painted grey armor; their leader bore the same symbols on his helmet that Rex did, but done in brilliant yellow, outlined in black to make them stand out more.

They numbered eleven in total - the eleventh clone was the only one in common white, clearly outcast by the others. He spent most of the time inside the caves; Maul had yet to observe him on guard duty with the others.

_ “Don’t know why the Commander puts up with him,” _ one of the grey-armored clones muttered one day - Maul  _ thought _ his name was Spark, but he was not certain.  _ “You heard what he did to the 212th.” _

Maul’s lip curled.  _ Kenobi. _

_ “Commander doesn’t keep anyone around without a good reason,” _ the other guard pointed out - almost certainly Shadow, whom Maul had tentatively pinned as the second-in-command.  _ “Must think he’s worth the risk. He’s not bad with the tanks.” _

_ “...yeah,” _ the first clone muttered.  _ “I guess that’s true.” _

Interesting. Maul hummed softly, safely hidden in the trees and much too far away to be heard. If he wished to do more than observe these men, he would do well to target first the outcast.

Maul brushed his thumb over the soft fur of the venateryx’s head and wondered just how much use the little creature could be.

There had been…  _ stories, _ in the days of the Empire, whispers in the dingy hallways and the dorms of beaten-down miners and the hidden villages of Shili. Maul had paid them little mind until he’d found himself scouring an abandoned rebel base and found a painting of a convor, wings spread across the entire wall of the room, and below it -

He could only call them  _ offerings. _ Blasters, bracelets, charms, all cheap and well-worn tokens of sentiment, attached to pieces of weathered flimsi.  _ Fulcrum, hold him close. Fulcrum, guide her safely. Fulcrum, take me home. _

The venateryx trilled on Maul’s arm.

“Go,” Maul ordered, tossing the creature into the air. “Make yourself… useful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talzin’s death is actually canon - it happened in the Son of Dathomir comics, which deals a lot with the Shadow Collective and what Maul got up to between losing Savage and the Battle of Mandalore.
> 
> I kept wanting to have the Domino boys offer solutions but unfortunately, Fives and Echo are still baby! They don’t know what they’re doing!


	34. My ARC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, when I started writing LiBT, I thought it was going to be fairly cracky. Ahsoka and Rex running around being the local cryptids and saving the galaxy by being weird.
> 
> And then I took it seriously. And more seriously. Oh no oh god too serious -

Rex left the celebrations as soon as they began. Ahsoka could handle the men; he heard her calling out to someone, delight singing through the hangar before he left.

He felt like he was going to throw up. His head was pounding, blood roaring in his years - _Fives, Fives, Fives -_

“Rex.” He nearly jumped out of his skin at Cody’s voice. “What do you need?”

What did he - Rex shook his head, fighting back the impulse to rub at his face. He still had his bucket on, he wanted to _keep_ it on.

 _“Rex,”_ Cody pressed, resting a hand on the back of Rex’s neck. “Tell me, _vod’ika._ You’re barely holding yourself together as it is.”

Rex slumped against him, grateful that the corridor was deserted as he pressed his helmeted head into Cody’s shoulder. “Need something to do,” he muttered. “Don’t want to think about it.”

Cody sighed and dragged Rex into a tight hug. “‘S gonna be okay, _Rex’ika,”_ he muttered. “You’re not alone anymore, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Rex croaked. “Right.” He straightened up, breathing deeply until the pounding in his head faded into a dull roar - painful, but ignorable.

Cody kept his hands on Rex’s shoulders. “Okay?” When Rex nodded, Cody stepped back, a fleeting smile crossing his face. “Okay. Comm if you need me.”

“I’m not going to _break,”_ Rex muttered. “You don’t need to treat me like I’m made of glass.”

 _“Vod,”_ Cody said seriously. “You are going through what is, basically, the longest and most detailed flashback of all time. I don’t care if you’re an old man, you’re still the scrappy _di’kut_ who tried to jump Alpha-17 the first time you met him -”

“It worked,” Rex pointed out.

“- only because he was trying not to break your skinny _shebs_ in half, and don’t change the subject,” Cody warned, pointing a finger at Rex’s face. “The point is, you’re my little brother and I’m going to worry about you whether you like it or not.”

Rex shook his head. “You have enough to -”

“See point A.”

“Cody -”

“Rex.”

“Oh, Force, _fine.”_ Rex threw up his hands in surrender. “I’ll comm you, now _please_ kriff off and let me _work.”_

Cody grinned. “That how you talk to your superior officer, _vod?”_

Rex rolled his eyes. “No, it’s how I talk to my _akiiryc_ older brother -”

“Are you - are you trying to say -”

_“Shabuirlayc.”_

Cody covered his face with his hands. “Force, just _go._ Get your abomination words away from me.”

Rex swept down the hall, laughing, leaving Cody’s mock despair behind him.

Something to do - he needed to give his report to Skywalker about the attack on the Rishi base and ensure that Kamino was secure. Grievous had been more-or-less located - they still had the MagnaGuard processor with that recording - and, undoubtedly, Skywalker and General Kenobi would have plans.

Well, General Kenobi would have plans. Skywalker was more likely to have a goal and a vague idea.

( _Vader_ had always seemed to have a plan. How much of that had been him, and how much had been the Emperor?)

He found Skywalker in the ops room behind the bridge. The man looked up when Rex approached, expression brightening. “Rex!”

“General.” Rex nodded. “The outpost on Rishi is unsalvageable, but we have confirmation that Grievous was overseeing the attack personally.” He set the MagnaGuard head on the holotable between them. “Count Dooku was also involved in the attempted invasion of Kamino, although Grievous appears to have been in charge of the actual attempt.”

“MagnaGuards?” Skywalker repeated, picking up the severed processor to turn it over in his hands. “Was Grievous on Rishi personally?” He looked up, eyes scanning the room. “Where’s Commander Tano?”

“Celebrating with the men, sir,” Rex answered. “Grievous was not on Rishi personally, although he sent several of his bodyguards to do his dirty work.”

“I see.” Skywalker’s gaze cut towards Rex, pinning him in place. “Not joining them, Rex?”

Rex swallowed. “Considered the report more important, sir.”

A fond smile crossed Skywalker’s face before he returned his attention to the MagnaGuard head. “Thank you, Captain. Is there anything else?”

Rex paused, flitting through his memory for anything that could be useful. What happened after this? They had located Grievous and chased him to - to - Skytop, wasn’t it?

“Intelligence suggests we’ll have the most luck searching Bothan space,” Rex relayed dutifully, hoping that Blackout and his spooks could cover that. “Rumors of a Separatist listening post in that sector.”

“A listening post?” Skywalker echoed. “I haven’t heard anything like that.”

Rex shrugged. The silence dragged out between them as Skywalker stared at him, a small frown forming on his face.

(Was he imagining it - was that something brushing against his mind -?)

“Captain.” An armored hand presented him with a datapad. “Commander Tano asked me to pass on Domino Squad’s new assignment.”

Rex took the datapad on autopilot, skimming over names - Rho Squad, under Sergeant Hez. Good call; Rho had taken heavy losses on Mimban, which meant there was space in the squad for the whole of Domino, instead of having to split up a cadet-group. (Silver linings.) And Sergeant Hez was a steady, loyal soldier. He’d be a good sergeant for Domino squad, someone to settle shiny nerves and keep them in line.

“Thank you, Fives,” he said without thinking, looking up to see -

_Denal._

Too late, his brain caught up with his mouth.

_(Thank you, Fives - Fives - stay with me, Fives -)_

Rex whirled towards the door and bolted as quickly as he could without _actually_ running.

* * *

There was a trick to chasing after someone without looking like you were chasing after them. Mastering this trick, Denal had discovered, was an essential skill for corralling skittish shinies and sneaking up on subordinates who knew they’d karked up.

It did not work on Captain Rex.

Maybe it was ARC training, or maybe it was being the favorite _vod’ika_ of half a dozen CCs (including _Marshall Commander Cody),_ or maybe it was whatever the karking hells had gone down between Geonosis and Christophsis, but even half-panicked and maybe not all there (Fives? Fives, the _shiny?)_ the Captain could shake a tail in moments. Crowded hallways full of the same face, even in armor as distinctive as the Captain’s -

Not that it mattered, because Denal knew exactly where Rex was going. A panic attack bad enough to send him bolting meant he’d be looking for somewhere safe, enclosed - familiar. His cabin.

Denal sent a quick message to Lieutenant Mancy that boiled down to _kriffing help me,_ because he was good but he was not _that_ good. Fighting together on Geonosis and a handful of jokes passed over comms did not mean he knew how to help the Captain.

(He wasn’t sure the first lieutenants knew either.)

Mancy met him at the door of Rex’s cabin. “Why do I feel like we’re swinging wildly between ‘spectators’ and ‘babysitters’?” he asked, sighing.

“We’re still missing pieces, sir,” Denal pointed out. “The Captain’s -”

“I know.” Mancy raised a hand. “He’s my Captain. I’m just going to complain about it.”

Denal snorted. “Happy to help.”

Mancy smiled briefly, touching his forehead against Denal’s before he opened the door to Rex’s cabin.

Rex was braced against his desk, head bowed. His nails were digging into the desk, jaw clenching and unclenching, his breathing slow and shaky.

“Mancy.” He didn’t look up when Mancy and Denal stepped into the room, letting the door slide shut behind them. “Thought you were in the medbay.”

“Janlee let me out after you left for the inspections,” Mancy answered, stepping closer. Denal wound around Rex, slipping up to Rex’s other side.

Rex glanced at him, eyes dull, and straightened. “Denal.” He sighed. “I owe you an apology.”

“It’s all right, sir.” It was and it wasn’t - names were _important,_ but mistakes were mistakes.

“Right,” Rex muttered, turning around to face the rest of the room. He looked at Mancy, crossing his arms. “Quite a job you did on Mimban. Charging the shield generator like that.”

Mancy met his gaze. “Someone had to do it.”

“Didn’t have to be you,” Rex pointed out. “Could have been someone else.”

“My brothers needed the shield generator to go down,” Mancy responded. “As quickly as possible.”

Rex nodded slowly.

“I owe you both an explanation,” he said abruptly. “I know you both have… questions, about some decisions I’ve made.”

“I didn’t say anything, sir,” Denal put in helpfully.

Rex rolled his eyes, a fond smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Sit,” he said. “This is going to take a while.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CC-2224 “Cody”_

_Other Participants - CT-7567 “Rex” [offline], CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe” [offline], CC-1007 “Blackout” [offline], CC-1010 “Foxed Up”_

_Cody_ \- @Rex ?

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Everything okay??

 _Cody_ \- Not sure

 _Cody_ \- Maybe

 _Foxed Up_ \- Well, that’s reassuring.

 _Foxed Up_ \- Kriff, is that still my name?

[ _Foxed Up_ has changed their name to _Fox_ ]

 _Cody_ \- You okay fox?

 _Fox_ \- I’ll live.

 _Fox_ \- Legal goes through natborns like natborns go through clones, but the good one is still hanging on by a thread.

 _Fox_ \- I give her another week before she cracks.

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Aww :(

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Thire thinks shes nice!!

 _Fox_ \- Why the kriff are you talking to thire?

 _Mr. Secura_ \- Why shouldn’t i??

 _Fox_ \- Suspicious.

 _Cody_ \- Lmao

 _Cody_ \- Woulda thought a corrie guard would be less concerned with verakaan

 _Fox_ \- Oh trust me we don’t but hello senator how may I help you today

 _Cody_ \- Wh

 _Mr. Secura -_????

 _Cody_ \- oy mh gods

 _Cody_ \- Fox are you on DUTY

 _Fox_ \- Maybe

 _Cody_ \- GET OFF CHAT

 _Fox_ \- No <3

* * *

Rex watched Denal and Mancy as they sat in silence, absorbing what Rex had told them - not everything (not the time travel), but enough. More than enough.

Mancy ran a hand over the shaved skin of his head, fingers probing at his scalp as though he could feel the chip beneath the skin.

“You’re _sure_ it’s the Chancellor?” Denal asked finally, fingers laced tightly under his chin. His eyes were burning holes in the opposite wall.

_(Execute Order 66.)_

“Beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Rex answered.

 _“Blilka,”_ Mancy muttered, rubbing his eyes. Apparently, Ahsoka was a bad influence. “Who else knows?”

“Ahsoka, Janlee, and Coric in the Legion,” Rex began, ticking names off on his fingers. “Outside; the Marshal Commanders. Bly, Wolffe, the Coruscant Guard commanders -”

Mancy made a pained noise and Rex grimaced. “Cody’s decision, not mine. Blackout knows,” he added, nodding to Mancy, “as does his squad, and Slick -”

“What, the 212th traitor?” Denal’s lip curled. “Why him?”

Rex shrugged one shoulder. “He was our test case. Someone had to get their chip removed first.”

Denal whistled. “That’s cold, sir.”

“Don’t sound so impressed, then,” Rex responded dryly. “Bly, Cody, and Wolffe have started spreading the word to their subordinates. Wouldn’t surprise me if the rest of the Marshal Commanders have started doing the same.”

Mancy nodded. “And the Guard?”

“Kept in the dark,” Rex answered. “Safer that way.” He sighed. “We need a good surgeon, someone who can dechip Janlee and any other surgeon we can trust. I know one, but he's still on Kamino, won't be joining us until..." When had Kix joined the Legion, exactly? Rodia, hadn't Rodia been that trio's first deployment? "A few more deployments. Fortunately, we should be linking up with the 327th and I know Bly has a de-chipped medic."

“We don’t have enough supplies to de-chip the Legion,” Many pointed out.

“I’m working on that,” Rex promised. “For now, I’ll talk to Janlee and get you both de-chipped as soon as possible. Think about who you can trust, spread the information - but only as fast as we can de-chip them,” he warned. “I don’t want people going under knowing enough to take us all down, _tayli’bac?”_

“We can do that,” Mancy agreed. “Sir - the other lieutenants -?”

Rex faltered, frowning at the ground. “Do you trust them?”

Mancy hesitated.

Rex offered him a sad, understanding smile. “Loyalty to the Republic isn’t enough, is it?” he asked. “Not when the Chancellor’s the enemy.”

“Grezal’s going to be furious,” Mancy muttered. “I won’t tell them, sir. Not yet, anyway.”

Rex nodded. “You know them better than I do,” he said. “I trust your judgment.”

Mancy straightened.

“Sir?” Denal spoke up. “What - I mean, how did you find out about the chips in the first place?”

_I was framed… because I know the truth!_

“Denal,” Mancy hissed.

Rex held up a hand. “There was an ARC trooper,” he began, fixing his gaze on the wall between Mancy and Denal. “He was under my command. One of our troopers got - _sick._ He was taken to Kamino for treatment, but -” _Tup._

 _“Kaminiise,”_ Denal snarled.

 _“Kaminiise,”_ Rex agreed wearily. “My ARC kept digging. He convinced a droid to remove his own chip and escaped Kamino, but… they caught up to him.” He dragged a hand down his face. “He managed to get a message to me. He’d been - drugged, I think, or something similar, he wasn’t making much sense. I was blocked every time I tried to follow up on it, so I passed the message off to Ahsoka once I got the chance.”

_Find him. Find him. Fives, find him, Fives -!_

Mancy inhaled sharply. “That’s why - I thought she was the only Jedi you told, but she told _you,_ didn’t she?”

Rex wavered. “It’s… more complicated than that,” he said. “We were on assignment together, commanding a detachment on - in Mandalorian space,” he improvised, remembering too late that Mandalore was still pacifist. “When we were in transit back to Coruscant -”

The memories were thick and hazy, as if they’d been filtered through heavy gauze and wrapped up in _good soldiers follow orders._

“The fighting destroyed the hyperdrive,” he said flatly. “We crashed. Ahsoka and I were the only survivors.”

“How many?” Denal whispered.

Rex glanced away. “A regiment.”

Mancy flinched. Probably imagining his 56th in the same position.

“I didn’t get my chip taken out until after the assignment in the Chrelythiumn system.” Rex glanced at Denal. “My ARC - his name was Fives.”

“Oh,” Denal said softly. “The Domino shiny.”

_Before there was Jesse, there was Fives, and before Fives…_

“You remind me of him,” Rex said. “That’s all.”

* * *

_Chat opened - this is an intervention_

_Welcome, CT-7567 “Rex”_

_Other Participants - CC-2224 “Cody”, CC-5052 “Mr. Secura”, CC-3636 “Wolffe” [offline], CC-1007 “Blackout”, CC-1010 “Fox” [offline]_

_Cody_ \- About karking time

 _Cody_ \- You okay?

 _Rex_ \- stellar

[CT-7567 has blocked CC-1010]

 _Rex_ \- Lt mancy and denal are in the loop

 _Cody_ \- Oh good

 _Rex_ \- word spreads with dechipping

 _Rex_ \- unfortunately im short on trustworthy surgeons

 _Cody_ \- With your CMO?

 _Rex_ \- im working on it

 _Rex_ \- but were getting there

 _Blackout_ \- thank kriff

 _Blackout_ \- got the list of black market dealers btw were reaching out

 _Blackout_ \- all goes well and ull have supplies in the next two weeks

 _Cody_ \- Good work

 _Rex_ \- any word from the handmaiden?

 _Blackout_ \- spiders setting up a meeting

 _Blackout_ \- shadows working on the black market contacts

 _Blackout_ \- things are happening. very exciting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who don't follow Living in Normal Time, I posted a new chapter over there that's a crossover between meridianpony's Dominoes and LiBT - basically, Domino squad also came back in time. (It's not canon but it was fun to write)
> 
> Additionally, the battle of Mimban is from the comics somewhere, so I'm not just making it up whole cloth.
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _vod’ika_ \- little sibling  
>  _vod_ \- sibling  
>  _di’kut_ \- idiot  
>  _ver’akaan_ \- GAR-specific word for clone politics, literally translates to “war-loyalty”  
>  _tayli’bac?_ \- understand?  
>  _kaminiise_ \- Kaminoans
> 
> Togruti Translations  
>  _blilka_ \- butt, ass; the equivalent of “shebs” in Mando’a


	35. The Breadcrumb Trail

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not actually dead, I promise! Schoolwork stole all my writing time. (Plus, I finally finished outlining my original novel to the point where I can actually start drafting, so my brainspace has been consumed by that.)

Dathomir did not have spaceports so much as it had landing spots, and it didn’t have landing spots so much as it had clearings, and it didn’t have clearings so much as places where the vines were slightly less likely to eat a ship whole.

Rabé stepped back and squinted up at the shadow of the _Cloudburst,_ the compact little frigate she’d acquired with the salary Padmé paid her.

She’d then proceeded to run it through every dirty trick in the book, because between the vague hints from the 501st’s captain and the digital breadcrumbs she’d dug up, this little operation was so far off the books it wasn’t even black ops. Not even Padmé knew she was here - nobody did.

Maybe she should have brought Sabé, or Eirtaé. Any of her sister handmaidens, really. But she hadn’t, and she was here alone, and she was just going to have to deal with whatever happened.

With the _Cloudburst_ secured, Rabé glanced back down at her datapad. She’d pinged the frequency she’d pieced together from the breadcrumb trail she’d picked out of the dark corners of the HoloNet.

The answering ping set off her datapad, pointing her deeper into the jungle - estimated distance, twenty klicks to the southeast. Correcting for Dathomir’s environment, it was probably closer to eighteen.

Rabé tapped the blaster pistol on her hip and slung her rifle over her shoulder. _Better get to it._

* * *

Ajata had been working with the Coruscant Guard for weeks now - her list had turned into a file, which had turned into a folder. She had been compiling everything from ethical violations to outright criminal activity (always _against_ the clones, the men themselves were squeaky clean and _always_ got the short end of the stick).

Ethical violations, worker’s rights violations, property damage - both property damage and _property damage -_ criminal misconduct, and she had a file for _each._

She’d reached out to Feygla last week - they were supposed to meet at midday tomorrow, on Ajata’s day off (something something public area, and Ajata’s shift wasn’t over until after dark). As it stood now, she was nearly finished with her shift, down to the last fifteen minutes where she spent most of her time watching the chrono and trying to avoid thinking about _property damage._

She was supposed to spend her life prepping cases for civil courts - the worst thing she was ever supposed to see was a messy divorce.

But now she was here, and _apparently_ she was going to have to do something about it or she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

She was already having trouble.

Jek offered her a smile as he walked past her. Ajata rubbed her eyes. When she re-opened them, Jek was gone, leaving her alone with a strange clone who had taken his place.

The armor design was unfamiliar, simple stripes on the shoulder pads with little scale markings in the cheek hollows of the helmet and blotches like camouflage on the chestplate - Ajata didn’t think she’d even seen him around the mess hall when she broke for lunch. She watched carefully as he pulled off his helmet, revealing a regulation cut and a scar over one eye.

“Hey, ma’am,” he greeted with an easy grin. “Ajata Mepour, right? You’ve stuck around for quite a while.”

Ajata offered her most professional smile, wondering if the clones had their own branch of internal affairs. “Just a few weeks. Um, I don’t think I’ve met you before?”

“Call me Leon,” he said, grabbing Rhys’s chair and sliding around to the other side of AJ’s desk. “You seem like a straightforward person, so I’m going to keep this, well, straightforward.” His grin shrank by a couple molars. “You’ve been paying attention around here.”

Ajata tugged her coat closer around her shoulders. “I’m not sure what you’re implying, Leon, but I don’t think I like it.”

Leon raised his hands and leaned back in Rhys’s chair. “I’m not implying anything, ma’am, but I’ve been watching you since you made friends with Jek and Rhys. Commander Fox’s orders.”

“I’m afraid that doesn’t mean anything to me,” Ajata said, hugging her coat tighter. Her stomach felt like it was full of butterflies. Slimy, hungry butterflies.

“Ah, right.” Leon clapped his hands together. “Natborn, I forgot. Well, you can stop ripping your coat up at the seams, I’m not gonna hand you over to your bosses. Or anyone else.” He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the desk. “The Commanders keep us safe as best they can. I help however I can. Sounds to me like you’re trying to make their job easier.”

Ajata was frozen. What if he was lying, what if she got in _trouble -_

No, she wasn’t doing anything wrong. Every note she’d taken was meticulously clean of classified information. She took a deep breath. “Maybe.”

Leon’s grin returned full-force. “Excellent.” He extended his hand. “My friends call me Chameleon.”

Ajata shook it. “AJ.”

* * *

Maul watched Feral and Savage train among the dangling vines and half-melted trees of Dathomir’s forests and scowled.

“Strike harder,” he ordered, growling low in his throat as Savage pulled a strike that would have knocked Feral flat. “A brush of your hand will not take down an assassin.”

“Yes, my lord,” Savage muttered, eyes downcast.

Feral kept his chin up. “I do not want to strike my brother,” he retorted, the unsaid _you cannot make me_ grating against Maul’s bones.

“Do you not?” Maul asked, circling behind them. “Perhaps he deserves it. Perhaps it is his punishment for being _weak.”_

“Savage is not _weak!”_

“No?” Maul raised a brow, stopping over Savage’s shoulder - how strange it was, to be his same height, to not have Savage’s bulk towering over him. “Then why can he not bear your strikes?”

Feral snarled, balling his hands into fists. “I will not fight my brother!”

 _I will not fight you, brother!_ Savage’s words echoed back from the heated morass of Lotho Minor, bouncing off walls of woven waste. A snarl ripped out of Maul’s chest; he lunged forward, coming up just short of Feral’s exposed throat. “Then you will fight _me.”_

Feral froze; his muscles locked prey-still as fear burned sharply at the back of Maul’s throat. Savage’s boot scuffed in the dirt as he took an aborted step forward, his anxiety souring the spaces between Maul’s teeth. “My lord -”

“Do you not hate me?” Maul demanded, cutting Savage’s protests short. His eyes were locked on Feral’s. “Do you not _despise_ me for taking you away from your village? For pitting you against your brother?” He bared his teeth as he pressed Feral back, towards the edge of the clearing. “Or do you imagine I will train _both_ of you as my apprentice? Do you expect such _accommodations?”_

Feral’s chest heaved, but the sour taste of fear was quickly being replaced by the heady weight of anger. Maul grinned; oh, it was a glorious feeling, the sensation of your veins afire with it, fit to set the galaxy ablaze. He would learn, in time.

“Do you dream of killing me?” Maul purred, coming to a halt. “Do you think you can assume my place in the galaxy? Perhaps you dream you can take your dearest brother with you.” His grin widened. “Or perhaps I will take him with _me.”_

With a howl, Feral flung himself at Maul.

Maul knocked him aside effortlessly; Feral righted himself and charged again, teeth bared in a snarl - only to stumble as Maul sidestepped his wild swing.

“Use your anger!” Maul shouted, circling Feral with easy strides. “Strike me down! Take my _place,_ apprentice - if you _can.”_

Feral’s answering strike was vicious - _would_ have been vicious, brutal, even, if it had landed. But Maul slipped out of the way, letting Feral overbalance and stumble.

Quick as thought, Maul’s fingers hooked around Feral’s horns and flung him into the dirt. “I thought you were a leader among your people,” he sneered, looming over this - creature, this _apprentice_ (his brother). 

Feral glared up at him, hatred burning in his eyes.

Maul turned away.

* * *

AJ was on the way out the door - Chameleon was kind enough to walk her to the edge of the speeder lot - when a familiar face popped up, swaying slightly and grinning like mad.

 _“Irym,”_ AJ hissed, mortification heating her face to melting point. “Seriously? _Seriously?”_

The cerean’s grin widened. “AJ! Fancy meeting you here -”

“I take it you two know each other,” Chameleon said, amused, as the Guard hauling Irym along by the elbow stopped, raising an eyebrow at Chameleon.

AJ pinched her brow. “She’s my best friend,” she muttered. “Although sometimes I wonder why.” She turned back to Irym. “You couldn’t cause problems for someone else for once?”

Irym shrugged. “Drunk tanks have the best gossip, and this one is cleaner.”

AJ deflated with a sigh. “I keep telling you that you need a better job.”

“Yeah, well,” Irym shrugged. “Until I do, fluff pieces pay the rent.”

“Well, I suppose something has to.” AJ mouthed _sorry_ to the poor Guard still waiting at Irym’s elbow. “Who’s picking you up tomorrow?”

“Ceeti, probably,” Irym admitted, guilt flickering across her face for the first time.

AJ frowned. “Doesn’t she have an early lecture on Centaxdays? I’ll pick you up.”

“Aren’t you working?”

“Not tomorrow.” AJ offered a half-smile and another apologetic look at the Guard. “See you then. Have fun in the drunk tank.”

Irym laughed as AJ and Chameleon walked away. “I always do!”

“She doesn’t cause too much trouble, does she?” AJ asked once they were out of earshot. “I know she doesn’t mean to, but has an, um, _interesting_ definition of trouble.”

Chameleon laughed. “Oh, she’s a regular, don’t worry about her. Chatty, but nicer than most of the _chakaare_ we haul in.”

AJ had no idea what _chakaare_ meant, but she gathered it wasn’t nice. “Well, at least there’s that.”

Chameleon stopped at the edge of the speeder lot. “Are you meeting Feygla tomorrow?”

“I - wh -” AJ sputtered. “Did you _bug my comm?”_

Chameleon smiled sheepishly. “Nah, lucky guess. I was part of the team that investigated Killesa and Gyn before they were contracted with us. I was hoping Eirtin Feygla would help, but she took one look at the place and quit on the spot. Tanked morale, let me tell you.”

“I can only imagine.” AJ’s heart sank at the reminder. Feygla hadn’t actually promised to _help_ them, after all. “Well, I can make my way to the station from here -”

“One more thing,” Chameleon said quickly. “I can’t take the time off tomorrow myself, but I want to hear what happens.” He slipped a commlink into her bag. “Signal me when you meet. I’ll listen in.”

AJ stammered. “I - I don’t think Feygla will like that very much -”

“So don’t tell her.” When AJ stared in disbelief, he sighed. “If you can, all right? I just want to know what happens.”

AJ clutched her bag closer. “I’ll see what I can do.”

* * *

“Hey, Slick. Where are you off to?”

Slick scowled as one of the spec-ops boys - _Spark_ his brain supplied, which was irritating considering he was trying as hard as possible not to care about the _chakaare_ who had stuck him under the knife of the 501st’s _dini’la_ CMO -

“The ‘fresher,” Slick answered, lip curling. “Why? You need to come hold my decee for me?”

Spark had the audacity to look _hurt,_ the damn shiny. “I was just -”

“Well, don’t,” Slick growled. He shoved Spark aside and stalked out of the cave.

He hated Dathomir. He hated the humidity, the constant fog, the incessant buzzing _bugs_ that got under his armor and stung every bit of skin they could find.

He hated the spec-ops clones - _Akk squad -_ for trying to pretend they cared, like he hadn’t heard the whispers of _vod’e chakyr’amud_ when they thought he wasn’t listening.

They didn’t understand. He’d had to do it - had to, none of his brothers had _understood_ what was happening. They still didn’t, not even now, after they’d pulled _slave chips_ out of their brains.

He loved his brothers, but they didn’t understand.

So wrapped up in his thoughts was he that he didn’t realize he was being watched until someone cleared their throat.

Slick whirled around, decee brought to bear. “Who’s there?”

A red-and-black zabrak leaned against a nearby tree. His mouth stretched into a smile as Slick caught his gaze and straightened, taking a deliberate step forward, heedless of the blaster aimed at his chest. He was unarmed - there was a weapons belt around the zabrak’s waist, but it was empty.

Which probably meant that he _was_ armed, but whatever weapons he had were hidden.

“You must be Slick,” the zabrak purred. “I have been watching you.”

“Yeah?” Slick took a step back. Something about this alien felt _weird,_ wrong - like the air around Ventress. “Sorry to disappoint, but you’re not my type.”

The zabrak’s laugh rumbled deep in his chest. “Fret not,” he said. “I wish to speak with you, that is all.”

Oh, this guy was _exactly_ like Ventress. “Not sure we have anything to speak about.”

“Do we not?” the zabrak murmured. “Such loyalty you show to your brothers, not even _speaking_ to a _nat-born -”_

“All right, what?” Slick snapped, lowering his deece. “Get on with it.”

“Such impatience,” the zabrak drawled. “My name is Maul.” A small bat-like creature fluttered through the trees. “This place is my home. You and your brothers have encroached upon it.”

Slick bared his teeth. “And what are _you_ planning to do about it?”

“Nothing. _Yet.”_ Maul took another step forward. “Your unfamiliarity with Dathomir has not drawn attention, but that may change.”

“That a threat?”

“A warning.” Maul tilted his head. “I can help you avoid notice. Learn to master Dathomir before it masters you.” He stepped back. “I will, of course, require something in return.”

Slick glared at him. “I’m not paying you.” He couldn’t, actually - they didn’t have any credits, and whatever they made from selling the bacta would get funnelled right back into de-chipping more _vode - freeing_ more _vode._

(“Freeing” them to continue fighting in the service of the _Republic_.)

Maul blinked. “I do not require credits. I wish to know why you are here, and who sent you.”

“Can’t help you.” Slick eyed the zabrak even as he spoke, weighing his options - Blackout’s goodwill, the importance of their operation, his own desires (he was still a person, despite what _Captain Rex_ might think).

“Cannot?” Maul asked, eyes bright. “Or _will_ not?”

Slick curled his lip. “Does it matter?”

“Does it not?” Maul spread his hands. “Take my offer or refuse it, as you like - but know that your little gathering has already drawn attention.”

That tipped the scales. “We can handle ourselves.”

Maul shrugged, apparently unconcerned. “As you like,” he said, taking a step back. “If you change your mind… I will find you.”

Slick opened his mouth to retort, but Maul vanished into the thick undergrowth and was gone. A little bat perched on a branch above Slick’s head and chirruped at him.

He scowled at it.

_Shab._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maul - I have issues and I’m going to make them everyone else’s problem
> 
> Slick is an unreliable little _chakaar_ and I love him.
> 
> Mando’a Translations  
>  _chakaare_ \- bastards  
>  _dini’la_ \- insane  
>  _vod’e_ \- siblings  
>  _chakyr’amud_ \- murderer  
>  _shab_ \- all-purpose swear  
>  _chakaar_ \- bastard


End file.
